Health law and policy questions are at the forefront of the coronavirus pandemic. We will continue to focus on these issues and welcome your ideas, comments, and questions.
Video Series
These brief videos provide expert answers to key questions surrounding law and the corona virus pandemic. Featuring analysis from faculty at University of Arizona Law, across campus and from other leading institutions around the country.
Toni Massaro, JD
Regents Professor, Milton O. Riepe Chair in Constitutional Law, and Dean Emerita
Focus on the structure of government in the time of a pandemic
Toni Massaro, JD
Regents Professor, Milton O. Riepe Chair in Constitutional Law, and Dean Emerita
Explains individual rights and liberties in the time of pandemi
Toni Massaro, JD
Regents Professor, Milton O. Riepe Chair in Constitutional Law, and Dean Emerita
Constitutionalism in a time of emergency, should there be a change in the constitution?
Shefali Milczarek-Desai, JD, MA
Assistant Clinical Professor and Director of the Workers’ Rights Clinic, University of Arizona, James E. Rogers’ College of Law
Roger Klein MD, JD
Faculty Fellow, Center for Law, Science, and Innovation; Arizona State University
Tracy P. Nuckolls, Esq.
Professor of Practice, James E. Rogers College of Law, Health Law & Policy Program
Richard Carmona, MD, MPH, FACS
17th Surgeon General of The United States Distinguished Professor, University of Arizona
Sandy Severson, BSN, MBA, CPHQ, CPPS, CENP, FACHE
Vice President, Care Improvement Arizona Hospital and Health Association
Elizabeth Hall-Lipsy, J.D., M.P.H.
Assistant Professor and Director of PharmD Forward Program, College of Pharmacy, University of Arizona
Professor Hall-Lipsy will be teaching a course in Liability and Regulation of Healthcare Professionals summer 2020
Andrew Maccabe, DVM, MPH, JD
Chief Executive Officer of the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges
Leila Barraza, JD, MPH
University of Arizona College of Public Health Community, Environment & Policy
Professor Leila Barraza is teaching a course in Public Health Law & Ethics May 18 – June 26, 2020. Examine the constitutional underpinnings of public health interventions, and recognize the respective roles of local, state, tribal, and federal governments with respect to public health.
UA News interviews Professor Barraza
Jacob Sherkow, JD
Fellow Harvard University and Professor, New York Law School
David H. Beyda, MD
University of Arizona College of Medicine
Alison Bateman-House, MPH, PhD
NYU Grossman School of Medicine
Professor Bateman-House is leading a new course at AZ Law this summer called: Access to Investigational Medical Products: Clinical Trials, Expanded Access and Right to Try.
Additional Resources
University of Arizona Law faculty members are frequent contributors to COVID-19 discussions in media outlets, panel discussions, opinion pieces and more. See below for recent commentary and analysis.
Webinars & Podcast:
Hospice and COVID-19
Arizona Bioethics Network invited Professor Tara Sklar, Jessica Empeno, alumna of the Graduate Certificate in Health Law for Health Professionals, and hospice leaders in Arizona, California, and Washington to weigh in on the challenging legal and ethical issues facing hospices and home healthcare during COVID-19. Click here to view the webinar.
NYU Langone Health’s Working Group on Compassionate Use and Preapproval Access (CUPA) and University of Arizona Law’s Health Law & Policy program co-sponsored a webinar on emerging ethical issues in drug and vaccine development for COVID-19. Click here to view the webinar.
NYU Langone Health’s Working Group on Compassionate Use and Preapproval Access (CUPA) and University of Arizona Law’s Health Law & Policy program co-sponsored a webinar on taking care of chronic and acute non-COVID-19 patients during the pandemic. Click here to view the webinar.
This Week in Health Law podcast invites Professor Tara Sklar, to introduce NYU Langone Health's Art Caplan's talk on COVID-19 vaccine development. Click here to tune in.
In the News
Balancing Individual Rights, Public Health During a Pandemic
University of Arizona Health Sciences
June 10, 2020
Stacy Pigott interviews Professor Leila Barraza on quarantine and isolation orders during emergency declarations.
How COVID-19 Could Drive Improvements in Care Facilities (Part II)
Harvard Law Petrie Flom Center
June 10, 2020
Nicolas Terry, LLM and Tara Sklar, JD, MPH explore how improved regulations and enforcements provide optimal path for improvements in care facilities.
States are making it harder to sue nursing homes over COVID-19: Why immunity from lawsuits is a problem
The Conversation
June 9, 2020
Professor Tara Sklar and Law Professor Nicolas Terry argue for more accountability from nursing homes particularly regarding their COVID-19 death toll.
How COVID-19 Could Drive Improvements in Care Facilities (Part I)
Harvard Law Petrie Flom Center
May 29,2020
Part 1 of a 2-part series on COVID-19 and care facilities
Federal law says coronavirus testing should be covered, but patients are still being asked to pay
Arizona Daily Star
April 19, 2020
Professor Tara Sklar comments on questions of fairness and transparency as to who pays for COVID-19 testing.
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Vice News Tonight on Home Diagnostic Testing
Vice TV
April 15, 2020
Professor Christopher Robertson offers a recommendation for when at-home testing for COVID-19 may be a viable option.
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In the rush to innovate for COVID-19 drugs, sound science is still essential
The Conversation
April 8, 2020
Professor Christopher Robertson and coauthors Alison Bateman House (New York University Langone Medical Center), Holly Ferndandez Lynch (University of Pennsylvania), and Keith Joiner (University of Arizona) urge caution against overlooking the critical role of strong regulatory protections in supporting our ability to actually figure out which drugs work against COVID-19.
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Commentary: Without Obamacare, the COVID-19 crisis would be far worse
Chicago Tribune
April 1, 2020
Professor Christopher Robertson and DePaul University College of Law Professor Wendy Netter Epstein write about how the COVID-19 pandemic illustrates the dire need for the U.S. to focus on a rational health policy.
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Airplanes spread diseases quickly – so maybe unvaccinated people shouldn’t be allowed to fly
The Conversation (republished in the Chicago Sun Times)
Feb. 26, 2020
Professor Christopher Robertson and Keith Joiner, a professor of medicine, economics and health promotions science in the Eller College of Management, write that airlines should consider requiring vaccination for passengers.
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Book review of Pandemics and Polarization: Implications of Partisan Budgeting for Responding to Public Health Emergencies
Global Biosecurity journal
Aug. 6, 2019
Professor Tara Sklar reviews the book, "Pandemics and Polarization," which offers a deep dive on the declining budget for public health emergencies in the U.S. and how political feuds are harming the public health system.
Let us know what you would like to hear! Contact Christina Kelso, Assistant Director Health Law & Policy at law-healthcare@email.arizona.edu with your suggestions.
For more information on our online health law programs, visit: law.arizona.edu/health.