Insurance is often invisible until something bad happens. In reality, insurance is a $1.5 trillion per year industry that shifts, pools, and distributes risk across society. Virtually every piece of litigation involves at least one insurance company – and often more. Contracts are designed in the shadow of what insurance does (and doesn’t) cover. This course is designed to provide students with an understanding of basic insurance law concepts, including insurance theory and the significance of insurance in risk management and risk transfer; the business of insurance; the nature of various insurance products; and fundamental principles of insurance policy construction.

The course will begin with an overview and then systematically works through Baker & Logue, Insurance Law and Policy: Cases and Materials and Problems (Fifth Edition, 2008).  There will be additional materials posted on the course webpage. Grading is based on an in-class, open-book final exam, participation and attendance.  Participation and attendance will count for no more than a one-step increase or decrease, but such adjustments will be unusual.  Open book means whatever printed materials you choose to bring with you to the exam – but excludes materials stored electronically and/or on computer media.

This course explores the interwoven dynamics of law, ethics, and science in public health through examination of core legal theory and practice-based examples. With COVID-19 ushering law, policy, and decision-making around public health into broad public awareness, this class will draw upon current issues in society, enabling students to apply legal and ethical concepts to real-world scenarios. By spotlighting recent and historical examples of public health law in action, including COVID-19, opioids, obesity, tobacco, and the environment, this course will be valuable for students interested in health law and equity, as well as students seeking to deepen their expertise in public policy.

Students will learn the conceptual foundations of public health law in the United States, with particular attention to the statutory and regulatory powers and duties of federal and state governmental entities to protect the health and safety of the population and the judicial decisions that shape them. Sources of tension between public health goals and objectives and civil liberties will be interactively contemplated, including, among others: disease surveillance and privacy; labeling and advertising restrictions and free speech; and considerations around individual versus population-based conceptions of health. Discussions of recent major legislative developments and court decisions impacting jurisprudence, public health authority, and individual rights will be incorporated alongside primary themes. Throughout the course, students will engage with public health law through applied learning—case studies and class exercises—focused on analyzing emerging issues, comparing national and global responses, understanding ethical implications, and developing legal and policy strategies that integrate health equity and address social determinants of health.