Spring 2023 • Clinic
Health Law and Policy Clinic of the Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation
Enrollment in this clinic will fulfill the HLS JD pro bono or experiential learning requirement.
Required Class Component: Students in the spring clinic must enroll in either Public Health Law and Policy (2 spring classroom credits) or Policy Advocacy Workshop (2 spring classroom credits). Students who enroll in the spring clinic will be enrolled in one of the required courses by the Office of Clinical and Pro Bono Programs. Students are guaranteed a seat in one of these two required courses. Students enrolled in either course under a clinical seat will lose their seat if they choose to drop the clinic.
Additional Co-/Pre-Requisites: None.
By Permission: No.
Add/Drop Deadline: December 2, 2022.
LLM Students: LLM students may apply to the clinic through the LLM General Clinic Application.
Placement Site: HLS.
Students enrolled in the Health Law and Policy Clinic will work on cutting-edge legislative, regulatory and litigation projects at the state and national levels aimed at increasing access to quality, comprehensive health care for low-income individuals and families. Student projects involve: informing current debate on health reform efforts; providing law and policy analysis to national and state coalitions advocating to protect Medicaid, Medicare and discretionary health and public health programs: investigating best practices for initiatives to address health disparities and reduce barriers to health care for our most vulnerable populations; and litigating to address unfair and discriminatory public and private health insurance practices.
National level work involves advising government actors and leading chronic illness and disability partnerships to promote health and public health reform initiatives. State level work allows students the opportunity to travel to facilitate trainings and meetings and to support advocacy and litigation strategy development on a broad range of current health and public health concerns. (See the clinic website at www.chlpi.org for a more in-depth description of current clinic projects.)
Over the course of a semester, students gain a wealth of hands-on experience in current and emerging health law and policy issues, and develop written products such as fact sheets, in-depth reports, comment letters, testimony, presentations, draft legislation, regulatory guidance and litigation-oriented document production. Students have the opportunity to develop a range of problem-solving, policy analysis, research and writing, oral communication, advocacy and leadership skills.
Students who would like to participate in the clinic must enroll through clinical registration. Clinical placements are available for 3, 4, or 5 clinical credits. Students who enroll in the clinic will also be enrolled in one of the two required seminars by the Office of Clinical and Pro Bono Programs. Enrollment in either seminar is dependent on your clinical enrollment (should you drop the clinic, you will also be dropped from the seminar).