Program in Health Law and Policy
The Health Law and Policy Program was established at the College in 2001. Thanks to a recent gift by alumnus Jon David Epstein '67, and his wife, Beth, the program is now the first alumni-named and supported program at the College of Law — The Jon David and Elizabeth A. Epstein Health Law and Policy Program. Jon David Epstein is a partner and co-head of the Health Law Section of Vinson & Elkins, LLP in Houston, Texas.
The program promotes cutting-edge research, policy analysis, and public service/public engagement on critical issues in health care, promotes collaboration between scholars focused on health law and policy, and facilitates collaboration among government leaders, practitioners, and academic researchers on issues of increasing complexity. The program faculty are currently partnering with other universities, both domestically and abroad, on a variety of research projects.
The program faculty are currently partnering with other universities, both domestically and abroad, on a variety of research projects. The Epstein Health Law and Policy Program has established partnerships with various units on the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign campus, including the College of Medicine, the Department of Community Health, and the Institute of Government and Public Affairs for various research and public service projects.
Program Faculty
Professor of Law and Professor of Medicine, is considered one of the nation's top health law scholars, has published articles on a wide range of subjects, including managed care, professional liability, consumer protection, professional responsibility, tax exemption, and civil procedure. He is on the editorial board of the American Journal of Law & Medicine, and recently completed work as Special Counsel at the Federal Trade Commission on the evolving health care marketplace and antitrust policy.
Peer and Sarah Pederson Professor, is an internationally recognized expert on U.S. taxation and tax policy who also developed one of the first law school courses on elder law and who has been faculty advisor for the Elder Law Journal since its inception in 1993. He served on a 12-member panel on The Future of the Health Care Labor Force in a Graying Society, chaired by former U.S. Secretary of Labor Lynn Martin.
Professor of Law and Political Science, and Professor in the Institute of Government and Public Affairs, is Director of the program. Rich has recently published articles on managed care, genetic discrimination, mental health policy, and the State Children's Health Insurance Program. He was recently awarded the Mercator Professorship (supported by the German National Science Foundation) at Humbolt University in Berlin , where he worked with German researchers on issues relating to comparative health systems, comparative health law and policy, and the future of the social contract. In 2004, he spent two months in residence at the Max Planck Institute for Foreign and International Social Law to work on a health law and policy project.
