Health Law
The promotion and preservation of U.S. public health is the focus of this guide.
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Health Law Databases
Current legislation, statutes, regulations, agency guidance, court decisions, and agency decisions relating to health law can be found using the following databases:
- Westlaw: Health
- VitalLaw: Healthcare
- Lexis: Healthcare Law
- Bloomberg Law: Health Practice Center
- PLI Plus: Health CarePractising Law Institute's eBook platform for its course handbooks, treatises, answer books, legal forms, and program transcripts.
Federal Laws & Legislation
- Public LawsPublic and private laws are also known as slip laws. A slip law is an official publication of the law and is competent evidence admissible in all state and Federal courts and tribunals of the United States.
- U.S. Code (current version of the law)The U.S.C. contains the general and permanent laws of the United States, organized into titles based on subject matter. The U.S.C. currently consists of 54 titles and five appendices. The U.S.C. is prepared and published by the Office of the Law Revision Counsel (“OLRC”) of the U.S. House of Representatives pursuant to 2 U.S.C. § 285b.
- Public Health Service Act (PHSA), 42 U.S.C. §§201-300mm-61The principal federal law promoting and protecting public health.
Recommended databases for locating current and historical federal legislation:
- CQ Health
- Proquest Congressional
- Proquest Legislative Insight
- Congress.gov
- Congressional Research Service (CRS) ReportsCRS attorneys write reports containing concise, nonpartisan analysis of policy issues and legislative proposals before Congress. Some CRS reports are periodically revised.
Federal Regulations
- Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.), Title 42, Chapter I, Public Health Service, Department of Health and Human ServicesCurrent federal regulations relating to public health.
- Federal Register (Fed. Reg.)First official published source for proposed and final agency regulations.
Policy/Guidance
U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services (HHS):
- HHS Guidance Submissions
- Office for Human Research Protections (OHRP): GuidanceGuidance documents assist the research community in conducting ethical research that is in compliance with the HHS regulations.
Centers for Disease Control (CDC):
- CDC Archive: COVID-19: Guidance DocumentsCovid guidance documents are found in the CDC Archives.
U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA):
- Guidance Documents
50 State Surveys
- 50 State Surveys: Health CareEditorially created surveys on specific health care topics.
- 50-State Surveys, Statutes & Regulations: Healthcare LawProvides comparison of states' treatment of topical issues, linked to governing provisions on Lexis and prefaced by an examination of federal context and state themes.
- After Roe Fell: Abortion Laws by State(Center for Reproductive Rights)
- Chart Builders: Health CareSelect a topic, then select jurisdiction and subtopic.
- Health Care: Smart Charts(Wolters Kluwer VitalLaw database)
Smart charts are located under "Practice Tools." - Health Costs, Coverage and Delivery State Legislation(National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) 50-State Searchable Bill Database)
- National Survey of State Laws (NSSL)(HeinOnline database)
"Presented in chart format, NSSL allows users to make basic state-by-state comparisons of current state laws. The database is updated regularly as new laws are passed or as legislation changes." - State Legislation Tracker: Major Developments in Sexual & Reproductive Health(Guttmacher Institute)
Tracks state legislation relating to sexual and reproductive health.
Related Guides
- Federal Legislative History(GW Law Library)
- Federal Statutory Law(GW Law Library)