Fact Sheet

­OSHA Proposed Rule Protecting Workers from Extreme Heat

Fact SheetEnvironment, Climate and HealthInjury Prevention and SafetyMechanisms for Advancing Health EquityMechanisms for Advancing Public HealthMental Health and Well-BeingEmergency Legal Preparedness and Response

October 3, 2024
by Betsy Lawton

Extreme heat is the number one cause of weather-related death in the United States. Indoor and outdoor workers are particularly at risk during extreme days. This resource outlines federal, state, and local legal and policy protections for indoor and outdoor workers; and barriers to protecting this workforce, including legal methods like preemption – a legal method used by a higher level of government to limit the authority of a lower level of government – that can be used by some to override existing or potential local protections.

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State Regulation of Adult-Use Cannabis Advertising

Fact SheetCannabis Legalization and RegulationLegislation and Legal Challenges

September 17, 2024
by Mathew Swinburne

Cannabis use among youth is linked to harmful effects on attention, memory and decision-making, coordination, and mental health. One way to reduce youth cannabis use is to regulate outdoor cannabis advertising. This fact sheet analyzes the outdoor advertising restrictions and policies in jurisdictions that have legalized cannabis for medical and/or recreational purposes.

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Cannabis Advertising and the First Amendment

Fact SheetCannabis Legalization and RegulationLegislation and Legal Challenges

September 17, 2024
by Mathew Swinburne

Because of the potential harms cannabis use poses to youth, many states place restrictions on cannabis advertising. Courts are divided as to whether such restrictions violate a business’s First Amendment rights to engage in commercial speech. This fact sheet details how, depending on the scope and characteristics of a state’s advertising policy, cannabis advertising can be constitutionally restricted in order to protect children’s health.

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Naloxone Prescription Mandates

Fact SheetHarm Reduction Legal ProjectHarm Reduction Legal Project ResourcesOpioid Misuse and Overdose PreventionSubstance Use Prevention and Harm Reduction

September 17, 2024
by Amy Lieberman and Corey Davis

Drug overdose continues to claim the lives of tens of thousands of people in the U.S. every year. Opioids, both prescription painkillers and street drugs such as heroin and illicitly manufactured fentanyl, are responsible for the majority of these deaths. In response, states have passed legislation to increase access to the opioid overdose reversal medication naloxone, including provisions that allow for the distribution of naloxone through pharmacies. Some states have gone further and now require that naloxone be prescribed or offered to some patients. This fact sheet describes those requirements and links to the relevant laws.

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Supplantation in the Context of Opioid Settlement Funds

Fact SheetOpioid Misuse and Overdose PreventionHarm Reduction Legal ProjectHarm Reduction Legal Project ResourcesSubstance Use Prevention and Harm Reduction

August 21, 2024
by Corey Davis

The major opioid settlement agreements generally do not address “supplantation,” the practice of using settlement funds to support an existing initiative rather than starting or investing in new initiatives.  Some states have enacted laws, rules, or guidelines that restrict or prohibit such supplantation. This fact sheet provides a description and brief analysis of how various states are addressing this issue.

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­Public Health and Drinking Water Quality: How State Laws Affect Responses to Water Quality Contamination in Private Wells

Fact SheetEnvironment, Climate and HealthClimate Change, Health and Equity (CCHE)

August 6, 2024
by Betsy Lawton

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about one in five private wells contain unhealthy levels of contaminants. While a landmark federal law, the Safe Drinking Water Act, generally protects individuals that use a public water supply from exposure to unsafe levels of regulated contaminants, there is no similar protection for U.S. residents who rely on private wells for water. State laws and policies requiring water quality testing of private wells vary both in scope and the extent to which that water quality data is made available to the public. This resource provides a sample of state laws that highlight key similarities and differences between water quality testing programs.

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­Law and Policy Considerations for Workforce Protections from Extreme Heat

Fact SheetEnvironment, Climate and HealthClimate Change, Health and Equity (CCHE)

July 24, 2024
by Betsy Lawton

Extreme heat is the number one cause of weather-related death in the United States. Indoor and outdoor workers are particularly at risk during extreme days. This resource outlines federal, state, and local legal and policy protections for indoor and outdoor workers; and barriers to protecting this workforce, including legal methods like preemption – a legal method used by a higher level of government to limit the authority of a lower level of government – that can be used by some to override existing or potential local protections.

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­HIPAA Final Rule to Support Reproductive Health Care Privacy

Fact SheetHealth Information and Data SharingReproductive Health and Equity 

July 23, 2024
by Charles Curran and Susan Fleurant

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights issued a Final Rule, effective June 25, 2024, to strengthen privacy protections under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) for protected health information (PHI) related to reproductive health care of an individual. This resource highlights the changes outlined in the rule and the considerations for health departments.

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­Four Federal Reproductive Health Care Cases You Should Care About­

Fact SheetReproductive Health and Equity Maternal and Child HealthHealth and Health Care

April 24, 2024
by Joanna S. Suder

As the country, and the world, wait to see how the Supreme Court decides the case of Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDA seeking to prevent the distribution of abortion medication, there are four important reproductive health care cases working their way through the federal court system that may also affect a large number of individuals, especially adolescents and people who have low incomes. Although Title X has been law for 54 years, courts have played and continue to play a role in construing the permissible use of Title X funds, with the four pending cases outlined in this fact sheet as examples.

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­Summary of 42 CFR Part 2, Confidentiality of Substance Use Disorder Patient Records, Final Rule­

Fact SheetHealth Data Sharing and PrivacyHealth Information and Data Sharing

March 15, 2024
by Chris Alibrandi O’Connor

Law and policy play a critical role in shaping health outcomes especially when it comes to racial health equity. While legislative actions and trends matter, it is also important to understand the role of the courts in altering legal landscapes in ways that can positively or negatively impact racial health disparities. This fact sheet highlights four 2023 U.S. Supreme Court cases with examples of how each potentially impacts racial health equity. It also provides a further examination of two cases of the cases that can be classified as wins for racial health equity.

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­A Snapshot of Four 2023 Supreme Court Cases and their Impacts on Racial Health Equity­

Fact SheetMechanisms for Advancing Health EquityRacism as a Public Health Crisis

March 7, 2024
by April Shaw and Phyllis Jeden

Law and policy play a critical role in shaping health outcomes especially when it comes to racial health equity. While legislative actions and trends matter, it is also important to understand the role of the courts in altering legal landscapes in ways that can positively or negatively impact racial health disparities. This fact sheet highlights four 2023 U.S. Supreme Court cases with examples of how each potentially impacts racial health equity. It also provides a further examination of two cases of the cases that can be classified as wins for racial health equity.

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­Common Themes and Creative Solutions to Protect Privacy of Reproductive Health Data

Fact SheetReproductive Health and Equity Health Information and Data Sharing

March 7, 2024
by Stephen Murphy

The Network has identified at least eleven states and the District of Columbia (D.C.) that have now passed laws that seek to keep health data relating to abortion out of the hands of those that would seek to use them against patients and their providers merely for seeking, receiving, or providing reproductive health care. This factsheet explores common themes and creative solutions in state and District of Columbia laws aimed at protecting the privacy of reproductive health records.

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