Can Universal Coverage be achieved in even the world’s lowest-income countries? China’s recent health reform, which in three years has extended health coverage to 95% of Chinese citizens, including innovative financing initiatives in some of the poorest provinces, has focused the attention of governments of low-income countries on UC. The World Health Organization’s annual report…
We had a discussion with Daniel Sperling, Petrie-Flom Center Short-Term Visiting Fellow and Senior Lecturer in Bioethics, Health Law, and Health Policy, The Federmann School of Public Policy & Government and Braun School of Public Health & Community Medicine, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Dr. Sperling presented his current research project, with a response from…
This advisory lunch provided information for students interested in careers in health law policy, biotechnology, and bioethics.
The Harvard Law School Food Law Society‘s second annual conference was a part of the Society’s mission to foster dialogue and exchange knowledge of emerging issues in food policy and regulation. The conference explored the legal and policy aspects of food labeling and its effects on consumer knowledge, choice, and behavior. The forum brought together…
Pharmaceutical researchers pursue medical treatment and diagnostic methods to target diseases specific to certain demographic groups. Such pursuit is often motivated by commercialization through patenting. Are these research innovations a solution to orphan diseases? Or do they foster a culture of niche, designer medicine? This lecture, based on the book Identity, Invention, and the Culture…
Are there entities that we do not (or would not) recognize as persons but should, or entities that we do (or would) recognize as persons but should not? Should fetuses, animals, or artificial intelligences have rights? On what grounds should we recognize the moral and legal standing of others? This panel discussion explored these and…
We hear a lot about the conflict between use of an individual’s information for the public good and that individual’s privacy concerns. In this talk organized by PFC Academic Fellow Michelle N. Meyer, Charles Fried, Beneficial Professor of Law at Harvard, examined the deeper conflict that arises when an individual is used to generate information–public…
There have been a number of prosecutions of life sciences companies under the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and the qui tam whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act. Allegations included things like unlawful promotion, failure to report safety data, and false price reporting practices. Some of these cases resulted in massive settlements–some in the…
2012 was an historic year for health law, with the Supreme Court issuing the final word on the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act alongside a host of other critical developments. 2013 promised to continue the trend, with a number of other important topics on the horizon, from employer coverage of contraceptives to gene patenting…
Peter Barton Hutt has worked at the Washington, DC law firm of Covington & Burling, specializing in Food and Drug Law, for more than five decades. He has represented clients in administrative, legislative, executive, and judicial settings. He began his law practice with the firm in 1960 and is now Senior Counsel; between 1971 to…
