SLU Health Law Program

Morgan Hermanson & Pat Cooney

     

Growing concerns of future employment have plagued graduates across the country because of the recession and high unemployment rates. The government implemented a new health care law, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in March 2010, and countless industries are examining its details and flocking to benefit from its existence. The health law program at Saint Louis University Law School is no exception, as this community continues to experience success in the world of academia.

       SLU has the number one health law program in the country for the eighth straight year, according to U.S. News & World Report.  The rankings appear in the magazine’s “Best Graduate Schools 2012 Edition” and are based on votes from health law scholars. Many applicants to the health law program at SLU include medical professionals such as doctors and nurses returning to school to study the law, said Assistant Dean of Admissions Michael Kolnik.

However, Kolnik and others in the law school say it is still uncertain how much impact the PPACA has had on admission interest.

       What is for certain is that the new law will require attorneys to translate details involved in the 2,700-page document, which is generally good news for the health law profession.

       “Many of the business operations, whether they’re contracts, joint ventures or mergers, are going to require the assistance of lawyers to put the deal together,” said Professor Tim Greaney, director of the Center for Health Law Studies at SLU. Attorneys will be needed to help “new organizations, new structures and new arrangements” transition into a more integrated system, said Greaney.

       Oversight of the new regulations in the law by attorneys will allow the government to have more supervision over suspected fraud, said Greaney.

        “That requires legal assistance of both the prophylactic point of view, preventing harm, and from the remedial point of view,” correcting harm, he said.

       Admittedly, he said the recession has also affected the legal job market, which is at an all-time low in his 20 years of experience in teaching. However, he characterizes the health law students at SLU as likely doing better than average in comparison to other graduates because of the consistent growth for physician and hospital practices.

       At SLU, students select from a variety of health law classes to complete their health law certificate.  The health law certificate signals to employers that graduates are serious about the subject and have studied it in-depth, said Amy Sanders, assistant director of the Center for Health Law Studies.  

         SLU Law offers dual-degree programs including Master's of Public Health and Master's of Health Administration, said Sanders, which include following a general, versatile law degree but also explore questions of bioethics, business and policy.

       There are many opportunities for students at SLU to gain experience in the health law industry before graduation, such as internships in Washington D.C. and St. Louis, said Kolnik. Students can also compete in moot court, a prestigious extracurricular activity in law schools.

It is a simulated courtroom experience for law students. Additionally, they can write an editorial for the Journal of Health Law & Policy, published bi-annually by the Center for Health Law Studies.

       Kolnik and Sanders suggested that the PPACA inevitably will have an impact on job opportunities for health law graduates at SLU, although exact statistics have not been reported.  The PPACA must survive the numerous lawsuits pending that challenge its constitutionality.  One thing is for certain: Health law will continue to be a sought-after field for future law graduates.

Michael Kolnik      kolnikmj@slu.edu

Tim Greaney         greanetl@slu.edu

Amy Sanders       sanderan@slu.edu

The video we would include would feature lawmakers in Congress debating the Health Care law, followed by a cut to SLU Law students in moot court discussing similar topics.