Public Health Law Blog Archive

Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in United States v. Windsor that same-sex couples be treated the same as married opposite-sex couples when it comes to federal benefits. In addition to changing the coverage for certain employee benefit plans, the ruling impacts the application of many federal laws, including the HIPAA Privacy Rule.

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) recently announced a long-awaited regulatory change that would permit people to return unwanted prescription drugs to pharmacies. Under current law, such drugs can be returned only to law enforcement entities.

Over the past 10 years, public health researchers have produced an enormous amount of policy-relevant research evidence about childhood obesity. But how much of this evidence is actually reaching state decision-makers responsible for crafting policies? A Minnesota research team set out to find the answer.

The safe handling of food during transport is a critical component of the food system in the United States, and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) this year published proposed sanitary food transportation standards.