The Health Law Section, ably encouraged and supported by the D.C. Bar staff, has had another successful year of programs, community outreach initiatives, and other activities in the 2011–12 D.C. Bar year and looks forward to an equally successful year in 2012. As in past years, the steering committee has worked cooperatively with other sections and with D.C. Bar staff in a variety of different areas. We sponsored several programs and other activities in 2011 and have programs and activities being planned for 2012. The section steering committee holds monthly telephone conference call meetings chaired by section cochairs Cathy Scheineson and Tearyn Loving, with the able assistance of D.C. Bar staff including David Itkin and Candace Smith–Tucker. E–mail communications are used between regular meeting times in order to maintain proper coordination of activities and events.
A summary of the section’s activities in 2011 and our activities for 2012 follows.
- Programs
- Community Outreach
- Publications
- Web site
- Nominating Committee
- New Practitioners Committee
- Financial
- CLE Programs
- Other
Programs
The section sponsored several programs in 2011, covering topics such as electronic health records, health law career opportunities with nonprofit organizations, Accountable Care Organizations, insurance exchanges, and health care fraud and abuse. The programs committee is planning a reception for January 12, 2012 in the early evening at the law firm of McDermott Will & Emery. This reception will feature two distinguished speakers who will exchange opposing points of view on the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The other programs currently planned for 2012 are:
(i) off–label drug promotion (February 22, 2012),
(ii) data breaches (March 21, 2012), and
(iii) RACs and the Medicare appeal process (April 18, 2012).
Potential programs on global health, Sunshine Act regulations, and insurance–exchange subsidies (with the Taxation Section) are also being considered. Section member Selina Spinos (Fulbright & Jaworski) serves as the chair of the committee. Steering committee members Cathy Scheineson and Stuart Silverman serve on the committee.
On January 12, 2012, the section will host a reception at McDermott Will & Emery on the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act. Speakers: Professor Randy Barnett and Elizabeth Wydra.
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Community Outreach
The community outreach committee is in the process of updating both the patient and practitioner versions of the section’s award–winning Patient Rights Manuals. Volunteers have been reviewing, updating and revising all of the chapters of each Manual. Through the Health Care Decision–Making Project, the section's community outreach committee offers free community workshops on advance directives at senior centers, churches, synagogues, and elsewhere. Each workshop lasts approximately one (1) hour and involves the presentation of a video (prepared by AARP) on end–of–life health care decision–making issues, a presentation by an attorney on the meaning and content of an advance directive, a presentation by a medical professional regarding the importance of advance health care planning, and the distribution of an advance directive form (approved by the D.C. Hospital Association). The intent of the workshops is to spread awareness of the issues and to provide the tools necessary for end–of–life health care decision making. In order to ensure that the section continually recruits new volunteers to present at these workshops, the section provides training on advance directives and teaches volunteers how to answer questions at the workshops. The section is partnering with the AARP’s Legal Counsel for the Elderly and students from Georgetown University law school to broaden the reach of the Health Care Decision–Making Project. The section plans to hold at least one training session for volunteers in 2012.
In addition, the community outreach committee is committed to making section members available to law students in the District of Columbia who are interested in pursuing careers in health law. The committee hosted a career panel at the University of the District of Columbia (UDC) and at Howard University in February 2011 for law students interested in health law careers. The committee plans to host another career panel at Howard University in the spring of 2012. With leadership from the new practitioner committee, the section also sponsored two well–attended volunteer events at the D.C. Central Kitchen. Four additional volunteer evenings have been scheduled there, for January 18, February 1, March 1, and April 4.
The section’s community outreach committee is cochaired by Saundra Brown and Jenifer Cromwell for 2011–2012.
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Publications
The section issues an e–mail newsletter approximately four times annually. Jenifer Cromwell
serves as editor of the e–newsletter for 2011–2012.
The section is responsible for updating the Mental Health Proceedings and the Health Maintenance Organization Act chapters of the D.C. Practice Manual. For 2011, the Mental Health Proceedings Chapter was updated by Sherry Trafford, Staff Attorney for the D.C. Public Defender Service, with Jody Goodman of Crowell & Moring serving as reviewer; the HMO Act Chapter was updated by Lauren Haley of McDermott, Will & Emery, with Cathy Scheineson serving as reviewer. Both chapters are in the process of being updated for 2012.
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Web site
The steering committee continues to work with the Sections Office staff to ensure that information on the section Web page is current and useful. Our e–newsletter is also cross–linked to the Web site and we have added information about other health law events. Steering committee member Cathy Scheineson serves as the Internet coordinator for 2011–2012.
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Nominating Committee
The nominating committee, chaired by section cochair Tearyn Loving, is in the process of recruiting candidates to fill up to five vacancies for 2012 based on the proposed expansion of the steering committee from seven members to nine members. Members of the nominating committee will soon be selected.
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New Practitioners Committee
The new practitioners committee (“NPC”) has been in existence since June 2004 and has sponsored several successful programs with strong attendance. This year, the Committee changed its name from the young practitioners committee to the new practitioners committee. One main goal of NPC is to assist recent health attorneys with learning about the different career opportunities open to them as they progress in their careers. New members of the NPC are being recruited, and the NPC hosted speed–mentoring evenings with mentors and mentees in June and November 2011 in which experienced health care attorneys (including several senior government attorneys) were partnered with young practitioners. The committee is also launching a one–on–one mentoring program in early 2012.
In an effort to engage members and facilitate in–person networking, the committee held several happy hours this year, including joint happy hours with the young physician and young health policy professionals groups. The NPC also established a subgroup on LinkedIn to foster online networking opportunities for new practitioners. Lori Mihalich-Levin and Alan Arville serve as the Cochairs of NPC.
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Financial
The section’s financial condition is sound. Membership remains stable, and our reserves are currently adequate. Steering committee cochair Tearyn Loving serves as financial officer for 2011–2012.
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CLE Programs
The section will continue to offer its CLE “Introduction To Health Law” Series during the first quarter of 2012. Stuart Silverman has primary responsibility for planning new CLE programs, in coordination with the D.C. Bar CLE Office.
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Other
The current members of the steering committee are: Saundra Brown, Jenifer Cromwell, Lori Mihalich–Levin, Tearyn Loving, Cathy Scheineson, Stuart Silverman, and Hemi Tewarson. The section is fortunate to have so many members who are (including past members of the steering committee who remain) active and involved in section activities. With the valued assistance of the D.C. Bar staff and in further cooperation with other sections of the D.C. Bar, the steering committee looks forward with confidence to another successful section year of activities and events.
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