Health care law and legislation assignment week 1

lawandlegislationchapter1.pdf

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Chapter 1 Government, Law, and Ethics

“Laws are the very bulwarks of Liberty; they define every man’s rights, and defend the

individual Liberties of all men.”

J.G. Holland (1819-1881)

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

• Discuss 3 branches of government, & importance of separation of powers.

• Describe organization structure of Department of Health and Human Services.

• Explain development of case law & how it differs from statutory & administrative law.

• Describe function of various government ethics committees herein presented.

Government Organization

• Legislative Branch

• Executive Branch

• Judicial Branch

Branches & Powers of Government

Legislative Executive Judicial

Write laws Implement & Enforce Laws

Interpret Laws

Enact, amend, or repeal Laws

Veto Laws Apply Laws

Declare War

Confirm Justices

Commander-in- Chief Armed

Forces

Declare laws unconstitutional

Enact Taxes & set the budget

Appoint Justices Compel Testimony

Scarcely any political question arises in the United States that is not resolved, sooner or later, into a

judicial question.

−Alexis de Tocqueville (1805–1859)

Judicial Branch

• When government bureaus & agencies go awry, which are adjuncts of the legislative or executive branches, the people flee to the third branch, their courts, for solace & justice.

Federal Court System

• District Courts

• U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals

• Supreme Court

U.S. District Court

• Trial courts of the Federal System

• 96 Courts

• Jurisdiction over all categories of federal cases

– including civil & criminal matters

U.S. Court of Appeals

• Created to help reduce workload of U.S. Supreme Court

– 12 Regional Court

– 1 Judicial Circuit in DC

• Reviews

– District court decisions

– Administrative agency decisions

U.S. Supreme Court

• Highest federal court

• Only court created by federal constitution

• Comprised of 8 Associate & 1 Chief Justice

“As I have said in the past, when government bureaus and agencies go

awry, which are adjuncts of the legislative or executive branches, the people flee to the third branch, their

courts, for solace and justice.”

−Justice J. Henderson, Supreme Ct. of S. D.

Separation of Powers Model for Government

• Under this model government is divided into branches

• Each branch

– has separate & independent powers

– areas of responsibility

– each branch is also able to place limited restraints on the power exerted by the other branches.

Dept of Health & Human Services

• Centers for Medicare & Medicaid

Public Health Service includes

• National Institutes of Health

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

• Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration

• Health Resources & Services Administration

• Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality

• Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry

• Indian Health Service

Laws

• Govern the relationships between private individuals and organizations; and between both of these parties and government.

Categories of Law

• Public Law

– Deals with the relationships between government and individuals.

• Private Law

– Deals with relationships among individuals.

Sources of Law

• Common Law

– derived from judicial decisions.

• Statutory Law

– written laws

• Administrative Law

– public law, rules & regulations issued by administrative agencies to direct the enacted laws of the federal and state governments.

Common Law in U.S.

• Body of principles that has evolved and expanded from judicial decisions.

• Origins in English Common Law.

Common Law Principles

• Precedent:

– a judicial decision that may be used as a standard in subsequent similar cases.

• Res Judicata:

– means the thing is decided—refers to that which has been previously acted on or decided by the courts.

• Stare Decisis:

– common-law principle meaning let the decision stand.

– based on similar cases and fact patterns.

Statutory Law

• Written law emanating from a legislative body.

– Hierarchical Order

– U.S. Constitution: highest in hierarchy of laws

– State Constitution

Constitution: Article VI

• This Constitution and Law of the United States . . . Shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby . . . .

Administrative Law

• Extensive body of public law issued by administrative agencies to direct enacted laws of federal & state governments.

Administrative Procedures Act - I

• Describes different procedures under which federal administrative agencies must operate.

• Prescribes procedural responsibilities & authority of administrative agencies.

Administrative Procedures Act - II

• Provides legal remedies for those wronged by agency actions.

• Rules & regulations established by administrative agency must be administered within scope of authority delegated Congress.

Conflict of Laws

• When state & federal laws conflict

– Resolution sought in appropriate federal court.

GOVERNMENT ETHICS

• Office of Government Ethics

• U.S. House of Representative Committee on Ethics

• U.S. Senate Select Committee on Ethics

• Office of Congressional Ethics

Political Malpractice

• Failure of to act when there is a duty to act.

The tragedy of society is not the noisiness of the so-called bad

people, but the appalling silence of the so-called good people.

−Martin Luther King, Jr.

Review Questions – I

1. Define the term law and describe the sources from which law is derived.

2. Define the legal terms: a. precedent

b. res judicata

c. stare decisis

d. original jurisdiction

e. appellate jurisdiction

Review Questions – II

3. Describe the function of each branch of government.

4. What is the meaning of separation of powers?

5. What is the function of an administrative agency?

6. Describe the responsibilities of the DHHS.