News & Insights

The Network is pleased to announce the appointments of Carrie Waggoner, J.D. and Colleen Healy Boufides, J.D. as the new Director and Co-Director of our Mid-States Region Office. They will jointly will lead the Mid-States team of law and policy experts in their ongoing work to support capacity building to public health departments and other entities to advance laws and policies that center equity, particularly in public health data sharing. Read the full announcement. 

With accurate and complete public health data, policymakers can be better equipped to interpret and use data to dismantle the legal, social, political, and economic systems that create inequities. However, state collection of non-white racial and ethnic group data has long been incomplete and unreliable due to several barriers. Overcoming these barriers requires legal and policy solutions at multiple levels.

Although it’s been shown to reduce many of the harms associated with opioid use disorder, including overdose deaths, access to the medication buprenorphine has been hampered by several legal restrictions.  The recently passed 2023 Consolidation Appropriations Act includes a provision that removes a key barrier: the X-waiver requirement, which will increase access to buprenorphine, as well as improve provider knowledge of evidence-based substance use disorder treatment, and address disparities in access to care.

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, “science denialism” — including misinformation and disinformation — was rampant, engendering opposition to vaccines and other disease mitigation measures, as well as a backlash against public health officials. Combating the spread of misinformation and disinformation requires working with trusted community members and increased government efforts to disseminate clear public health information.

This January, the Biden Administration released a Blueprint for a Renters Bill of Rights, outlining five principles intended to strengthen renter protections and housing affordability. These principles are examined in a series of Law and Policy Insights articles, with the first focusing on the first and fourth principles: access to safe, quality, accessible, and affordable housing; and the right to organize.

Maryland’s Abortion Care Access Act is the first of its kind in the U.S. The new law expands the scope of practice for certain health care providers to allow them to provide abortion care, aims to increase provider diversity through training programs, and improves affordability and equity by requiring insurance coverage for abortion care. Experience and evaluation will help determine whether it is effective at improving safe, convenient, and equitable access to abortion care in Maryland. If so, it could serve as a model for other states looking to increase access, improve patient outcomes, and reduce health inequities.

The Network is seeking a Senior Program Coordinator to support our National Director in key initiatives and administrative activities. This role requires excellent planning, problem-solving aptitude, time management, nuanced relationship navigation, attention to detail, and the ability to meet deadlines while juggling multiple requests. A high level of integrity and discretion in handling information and professionalism in dealing with leaders inside and outside the Network is crucial.

The Network is hiring Public Health Law Clerks to work with its Mid-States Region Office and with its Health and Racial Equity program. All work will be performed remotely.

Dissemination of data disaggregated by race and ethnicity is an important step in advancing health equity. However, the public dissemination of datasets that include race and ethnicity raises important legal considerations around privacy, primarily around re-identification. Re-identification refers to the ability to use data from a de-identified dataset to identify individuals. Modifications to the released data can reduce re-identification risks while maximizing the data’s utility.

It is with great excitement and gratitude that I write to you as the new National Director of the Network for Public Health Law. I am taking on a role that was previously held by the brilliant Donna E. Levin, under whose leadership the Network has become an essential partner for public health. I feel extremely fortunate to join a team of eminent leaders and dedicated staff at the Network who are tireless in their pursuit of advancing law and policy that promotes public health and health equity. 

According to the National Council on Problem Gambling, approximately 85 percent of U.S. adults have gambled at least once in their lives. States benefit from revenue generated by legalized gambling and those funds are often used for specific public good, like education. However, States must recognize another reality, that problem gambling harms individuals and communities (problem gambling has the highest rate of suicide of any addictive disorder) creating a public health challenge that requires funding to prevent or ameliorate.

It’s well established that individual and structural racism has led to disparities in the quality of and access to health care in the U.S. Recent studies show how medical records are another avenue through which bias and discrimination negatively impact care and further perpetuate racial inequities in delivery. Some states and organizations have taken steps to prevent racial inequities from percolating within medical records by issuing recommendations, publishing guidelines, or by mandating implicit bias training for those in the health care field.