Health Care Compliance

Catalog description

This course is designed to expose law students to key legal concepts in the health care corporate compliance and ethics fields, which may be broadly defined as the application of internal corporate initiatives to ensure compliance with applicable federal and state laws and regulations. Health care is a highly regulated industry, and a health care attorney must have a broad understanding of compliance issues. Through readings and class discussion on common health law topics such as the Anti-kickback Statute, the Stark law, the False Claims Act and its whistleblower provisions, students will develop an understanding of the need for and the role of the Compliance Officer in a health care institution. Students also will begin to explore recent movement toward more broadly-based organizational integrity and ethics programs. Underlying course themes will include how to structure an effective compliance program and the role of government enforcement in controlling health care costs. Readings will derive from various sources. There is no required book. Case law, legislation, regulations, government reports and legal articles will be available on Sakai. As in any graduate-level course, thinking about and discussing the issues with an open and creative mind is actively encouraged.