UK Law Professor Publishes First New Health Care Law Casebook in a Generation

September 21, 2016

Nicole Huberfeld, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and Ashland-Spears Distinguished Research Professor of Law, along with co-authors Kevin Outterson and Elizabeth Weeks, has published a new book, The Law of American Health Care. The book’s focus is on the needs of students who want to practice health care law in a post-ACA (Affordable Care Act) world, whether in law firms, government, in-house, or making policy.

At its inception, health care law was primarily state-based common law, rooted in “Law and Medicine,” the original term for the field. The Law of American Healthcare is the first health care law casebook to consider federal law as the baseline, as opposed to state law or common law. The reading is not limited to case law – students learn from the full spectrum of the sources on which a health care lawyer relies: statutes, regulations, sub-regulatory authority, peer-reviewed health policy publications, and important judicial decisions. Both professors and students can benefit from the use of primary sources, which are the true focal point of the book. The book also modernizes the study of health care law by using text boxes with notes that highlight key lessons or that help to explain or enhance the material.

“This innovative approach is appreciated by the current generation of students who are steeped in interactive educational and social formats,” said Professor Huberfeld.

Professor Huberfeld and her co-authors have eliminated the notes after cases, knowing that many students do not read them, find them confusing, or both. Instead, they have included directed questions and hypothetical problems to immediately engage a primary source, as well as capstone problems at the end of each chapter.

In order to create a streamlined casebook, the authors chose topics selectively, drawing on guidance from American Health Lawyers Association curriculum recommendations, and engaged the selected topics in depth so students emerge with an understanding of the most important features of American health care law prepared to practice.

The Law of American Health Care is available for purchase on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/Law-American-Health-Care/dp/1454869038/ref=sr_1_1/156-2850062-7787803?ie=UTF8&qid=1473952155&sr=8-1&keywords=law+of+american+health+care.

Congratulations Professor Huberfeld!