Past White Papers
Fraud and Abuse
Beneficiary Inducements in an Evolving Market: Assessing the Risks, Understanding the Benefits, and Drawing the Lines
In October 2013, AHLA’s Public Interest Committee held a convener session to engage in a discussion of prohibitions on inducements to beneficiaries found in the federal Anti-kickback Statute and Civil Monetary Penalty Law. Participants represented a wide variety of backgrounds, including in-house counsel; attorneys in private practice who work primarily with hospitals, physicians, pharmaceutical companies, and/or long term care facilities; counsel engaged in patient advocacy, including the AARP; and attorneys now in the private sector who formerly worked in government services on behalf of both regulatory and enforcement agencies.
The purpose of the convener session was to consider what, if any, changes to these laws or additional guidance from the government might be beneficial in light of both the current structure of the health care delivery system and the implications of health care reform. Representatives from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation, and the Office of the Inspector General observed, but did not participate in, the discussion. The Public Interest Committee published a
white paper, which sets forth a summary of the discussion, presenting policy issues as well as practical considerations.
Health Policy and Administration
The Opioid Crisis: Understanding the Complexities, Acknowledging the Challenges, and Exploring Possible Solutions
On September 25, 2018, AHLA hosted a convener session at American University's Washington College of Law in Washington, DC to address the national crisis of opioid-related harm. Twenty experts from around the country gathered for a day-long meeting to identify the most pressing issues and discuss possible solutions. The white paper featured on AHLA's opioid crisis hub page captures the major themes and recurring issues that convener participants, with their diverse experience, expertise, and perspectives, discussed and debated during the day-long session.
A number of related resources that delve more deeply into many of the issues addressed at the convener session are included on our Opiod Crisis page in the Health Law Hub: Current Topics.
Life Sciences
Objectivity v. Commercialization—AMC Institutional Conflict of Interests in Research: An Academic Discussion
In support of scientific research, society places value on two potentially inconsistent objectives: promoting objectivity in the scientific process while simultaneously promoting commercialization of the results of that process. These potentially inconsistent objectives at the institutional level will be explored in an interactive discussion between individuals representing academic medical centers and participants from research and government agencies.
On January 27, 2011, a panel of experts held an academic discussion around a set of hypothetical scenarios regarding the issues that emerge when academic medical centers engage in medical research.
A summary of the academic collaborative discussion is presented here in this white paper.
