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The topic for this year’s Hall Center for Law and Health/Indiana Health Law Review Symposium was, “Ideology Meets Reality: What Works and What Doesn’t Work in Health Policy.” The “packed house” event took place October 21 in the Inlow Hall Wynne Courtroom and atrium. Health law students, faculty from across campus, and alumni took part in the program.

The event came at a crucial time as the nation faces a variety of critical health concerns, says Professor David Orentlicher, co-director of the Hall Center for Law and Health at IU McKinney and one of the organizers of the event. “In the past, elected officials often have adopted policies that exacerbate rather than solve serious health problems,” Professor Orentlicher said. “In large part, this has happened because policy is driven by ideology rather than science. In this symposium, our speakers discussed which policies work and which don't work for key issues in health, including health threats such as the Zika virus, abuse of prescription drugs such as Oxycodone, and the challenge of ensuring universal access to affordable health care.”

Among the cutting-edge topics addressed were:

• “From [A]thrax to [Z]ika: Key Lessons in Public Health Legal Preparedness, presented by Professor James G. Hodge, Jr., Professor of Public Health Law and Ethics, Director of the Public Health Law and Policy Program, and Director of the Western Region of the Network for Public Health Law at the Arizona State University Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law.
• “Ideology Meets Reality: What Works and What Doesn’t in Patient Cost Sharing,” presented by Professor Christopher Robertson, Associate Dean for Research and Innovation at The University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law. Professor Anne Royalty, Director of IUPUI’s Center for Health Economics Research was the commenter.
• “Measuring the New Health Care Federalism,” presented by Professor Abbe R. Gluck, Faculty Director of the Solomon Center for Health Law and Policy at Yale Law School and Professor Nicole Huberfield, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs at the University of Kentucky College of Law. Professor Diana R.H. Winters of IU McKinney was the commenter.
• “The Affordable Care Act: What are Its Aims and How Do We Assess Whether They Are Met?” presented by Professor Kosali Simon of the School of Public and Environmental Affairs at IU-Bloomington.
• “Patient Surveillance and the Public’s Health: Revisiting the Law of Unintended Consequences in the Age of the Opioid Crisis,” presented by Professor Leo Beletsky of Northeastern University School of Law and Bouve College of Health. The commenter for this discussion was Professor Ross Silverman of the IU Fairbanks School of Public Health and IU McKinney.
• “Conflicts of Interest in the New Era of Sunshine: What We Know and What We Still Need to Know,” presented by Professor Richard S. Saver, the Arch T. Allen Distinguished Professor at the University of North Carolina School of Law. The commenter for this session was Paul Helft of the IU School of Medicine and Director of the Charles Warren Fairbanks Center for Medical Ethics.

“The event allows students to engage with distinguished faculty on current health law issues,” said Indiana Health Law Review Editor-in-Chief Tyler Lemen, a 3L at IU McKinney. “The topic of this year's symposium provided attendees with scholarly views on health policy at a time when national opinions are shifting.”

“The Indiana Health Law Review Symposium provides an ideal venue for exploration of the complex fields of health law and policy,” said Amy Elson, Assistant Director of the Hall Center for Law and Health. “It allows us to connect leading scholars with the students and faculty of the IU McKinney School of Law, students and faculty from the IUPUI campus, and attorneys from Indianapolis’ vibrant health and life sciences sectors.”

In the photo from left are Professor Abbe R. Gluck, Professor James G. Hodge Professor Nicolas P. Terry, Professor Kosali Simon, Professor David Orentlicher, Professor Diana R.H. Winters, Professor Richard S. Saver, Professor Ross Silverman, Professor Nicole Huberfeld, and Professor Christopher Robertson.