AUWCL Health Law Program to Host Colloquium, Opioid Crisis Conference
January 28, 2019
American University Washington College of Law’s Health Law and Policy Program is hosting a number of important, high-level events during the Spring 2019 semester that feature distinguished guest speakers and discussions on key matters related to the nation’s health and healthcare systems.
“Through these events, our Health Law and Policy Program is building bridges to connect policymakers, leading legal practitioners, academic researchers, and experts from a wide range of other disciplines,” said Program Director and Professor Lindsay Wiley.
Health Law Legislative and Regulatory Practice Colloquium
Throughout the semester the program will present the Health Law Legislative and Regulatory Practice Colloquium. The four-part series will highlight current developments in health law and policy.
The first in the series, “Texas v. US and the Future of the Affordable Care Act,” will feature Joel McElvain, partner at King & Spalding on Tuesday, Feb. 5.
On Tuesday, Feb. 19, the program will host “The Support Act of 2018 and Federal, State, and Local Responses to the Opioid Crisis.” The panel discussion will feature Waverly Gordon, deputy chief counsel at the House Energy and Commerce Committee; Capri Cafaro, executive in residence at the American University School of Public Affairs and former minority leader, Ohio Senate; and Brian Altman, director of Federal & Political Affairs at the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and former Director of the Division of Policy Innovation at the HHS Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
“Sex-Based Discrimination under Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act: Implications for People who are Transgender” will be held Tuesday, March 19, and is co-sponsored by the Women and the Law Program, the AUWCL chapter of the National Lawyers Guild, and the AUWCL chapter of the American Constitution Society. Speakers will include Elliot Kennedy ’12 from the Department of Health and Human Service’s Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion; Luc Athayde-Rizzaro ’17, policy counsel at the National Center for Transgender Equality; and Mara Youdelman, managing attorney at the National Health Law Program (tentative).
The series will conclude Tuesday, April 9 with “Litigation Challenging Medicaid Work Requirements,” co-sponsored by the Women and the Law Program. The event will feature Leo Cuello, director of health policy at the National Health Law Program, and Capri Cafaro.
All events in the series will take place from 6-7:50 p.m. in room N101. The Feb. 5 event will take place from 6-7 p.m. RSVP to health@wcl.american.edu.
The Opioid Crisis: Rethinking Policy and Law
On Friday, Feb. 22, the Health Law and Policy Program will host “The Opioid Crisis: Rethinking Policy and Law,” co-sponsored by American University’s School of Public Affairs with support from American Health Lawyers Association and Wawa, Inc.
The day-long conference will bring together leading experts in public policy, law, economics, medicine, public health, law enforcement, emergency response, and more to reimagine policies and laws related to our nation’s response to the opioid crisis.
Panel discussions will focus on community prevention, access to pain treatment, access to treatment for substance use disorders, harm reduction, and the civil and criminal justice systems in response to the crisis.
American University President Sylvia Mathews Burwell, former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, will delivery introductory remarks for the conference’s first keynote address and discussion with Philadelphia Health Commissioner Tom Farley, MD, MPH. The second keynote will be delivered by Lt. Governor of Ohio Mary Taylor, with a discussion with Capri Cafaro, executive in residence at the American University School of Public Affairs and former minority leader, Ohio Senate.
View the full agenda, including panel topics and speakers.
The conference, will be held from 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. in Grossman Hall. Registration is $75, with CLE credits available at $55 per credit. Registration is free, but required, for American University students, alumni, staff, and faculty. Register here.
Students and practitioners interested in making connections and furthering their knowledge of the U.S. healthcare industry can attend the 12th annual Health Law and Policy Summer Institute at American University Washington College of Law.
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