Greetings to all.  We are now in our third and final issue of the eNewsletter for this academic year  and we hope it finds you well.  Again, we invite you to browse the excellent essays that have been incorporated into this newsletter and see our Upcoming Events section that highlights some of the events in which the Hall Center will be involved. 

Just to update you on our activities, Dr. David Orentlicher finished the Indiana Legislative Session in early March and is now a candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives.  Professor Kinney traveled to Ohio State University Moritz College of Law on April 8th as the Keynote Speaker at a day long conference titled Health Care Law and Policy: How Our Legal Community Can Help Improve the Health of the Underserved.  The conference was part of OSU's Woodside Speaker Series.  She will also speak at Lilly Auditorium today (see "Upcoming Events" below) as part of the Cutting Edge Lecture Series on "Health Reform in America: Lessons from Mexico, Canada, and the World."

We invite you to submit any updates or news you may have about your profession or practice that you would like to share via the eNewsletter or your contact information if you would like to write in any future edition.  Please submit your information to Elizabeth Currid at ecurrid@iupui.edu.

With Warmest Regards,

Professor Eleanor Kinney, J.D., M.P.H.
Professor David Orentlicher, J.D., M.D.

Healthcare Reform: Addressing the Underlying Condition
By Joseph Impicciche, '83  (Chief Legal Counsel, Ascension Health)

Last year 18,000 people, most of them in families where the adults have jobs, died prematurely because they could not afford insurance or could not obtain insurance at any price.  47 million Americans were uninsured - 7 million more than were uninsured in 2001. They get sicker than they need to; they lose their houses and their savings when they get sick; and they die young. Moreover, they cost people, and the businesses people work for, nearly $100 billion a year. This isn't a problem, it's a crisis. And it touches everyone. Read full article.

Creating Human-to-Animal Hybrids to Harvest Human Embryonic Stem Cells
By Rebecca A. Ballard, '06  (JD, Adjunct Professor of Law, Law Clerk, Indiana Supreme Court)

Human embryonic stem cells ("hESCs"), having the unique ability to differentiate into different types of cells, offer the possibility of treating a number of common diseases and disorders.  Concerned that the extraction of hESCs from human embryos destroys a potential human life, President Bush issued the August 9, 2001 Stem Cell Policy.  Federally-sponsored research under this policy is limited to those hESC lines where the derivation process (which begins with the destruction of the embryo) was already initiated as of August 9, 2001.  Since then, scientists have been exploring other means to acquire these precious stem cells.  Many alternative approaches have been proposed but remain unproven as a means to derive hESCs.  Read full article.

Institutional Review Board Liability under the False Claims Act: Difficulties for Research Subjects
By Jennifer Lemmon (2L)

Supreme Court Finds State Tort Claims for Defective Medical Devices Preempted by Federal Regulatory Law

By Emily Zoch (3L)

On February 20, 2008, the United States Supreme Court issued an important decision affecting patients' rights to recover under state tort law for claims that allege defects in medical devices approved by the Food and Drug Administration ("FDA").  In Riegel v. Medtronic, Inc., 128 S. Ct. 999 (2008), an 8-1 majority held that when a medical device is approved via the FDA's pre-market approval process, common law claims alleging product defect are preempted by the Medical Device Amendments ("MDA") of 1976 to the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.  The issue of whether such claims are preempted was intensely debated in the circuit courts of appeals, which, prior to the Riegel decision, were split on the effect of the MDA's preemption provision.  Read full article.

April 23, 2008
Cutting Edge Lecture Series: Health Reform in the United States: Lessons from Mexico, Canada, and the World
Lilly Auditorium, University Library
4:30 p.m.

May 10, 2008
Indiana University School of Law - Indianapolis Commencement
Indiana Convention Center
3:00 p.m.

May 29 - June 1, 2008
Adjudicating Adverse Events in Medical Care: An Educational Program for State and Federal Court Judges 
Presented by the Advanced Science & Technology Adjudication Resource (ASTAR) Center
An educational program paid for through a grant from the Bureau of Justice Assistance.
The activities and related publications of this project do not necessarily reflect the opinions or policies of the United States Department of Justice.
Registration: By Invitation Only
For more information, contact Heather McCabe: hamccabe@iupui.edu

June 20, 2008
6th Annual Conference on Health, Disability and the Law
"Emergency and Disaster Preparedness for Children with Disabilities"
Inlow Hall
8:00 am - 4:00 pm
5.75 CME credits
5.30 Indiana CLE credits
For more information see the web site.

June 23 - July 7, 2008
Comparative EU and US Science, Law and Policy in the Regulation of Pharmaceuticals and Medical Technology (Jean Monnet Module)
CLE credit available (pending approval)
To register contact maawelsh@iupui.edu
Complete program details on line.

On April 15, 2008, Roseanna Hall donated the Distinguished Alumni Award William S. Hall received from the Indiana University Alumni Association poshumously in the summer of 2007.  The Award is given to alumni who make extraordinary contributions to Indiana University.  The Hall Center is named for Mr. Hall and his wife, Christine, for the gift made in their name by the firm Mr. Hall helped to found, Hall Render Killian Heath & Lyman.  Mr. Hall was one of Indiana's first health lawyers and his firm is currently the nation's third largest health care law firm.

Health Law Society and Indianapolis Bar Association - Health Care Section Host Annual Social

First Year Health Law Society Member Awarded Grant to Attend AHLA National Meeting

Health Law Society Featured in Health Lawyers News
The Indiana University School of Law - Indianapolis Health Law Society was featured in the American Health Lawyer Association's March publication of Health Lawyers News.  Health Lawyers News is a monthly publication that AHLA distributes to its national membership of health lawyers.  The article highlighted the HLS's various activities over the past year, including a special emphasis on its service projects to Peyton Manning Children's Hospital at St. Vincent and Riley Children's hospital.  The HLS was one of two student organizations featured in a section that highlighted the AHLA's student affiliate organizations..  The AHLA is one of the largest trade associations in the country serving health lawyers and provides its members with various educational seminars and teleconferences, in addition to a wealth of publications and various mediums of health law updates.  The HLS is a student affiliate organization of the AHLA and has various students who are student members of the AHLA.

Mr. Alex Azar of Eli Lilly and Company Addresses Health Law Society, Medical Students, and Indianapolis Attorneys About Health Care Reform
On February 19, 2008, the Health Law Society hosted Mr. Alex Azar, Senior Vice President of Corporate Affairs and Communications at Eli Lilly and Co., and former Deputy Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services in the Wynne Courtroom at Indiana University School of Law - Indianapolis.  Mr. Azar addressed the crowd of law students, medical students, and area attorneys about the different problems facing the United States' health care system, why they were present, and some possible solutions to an ever-growing problem and discussion that has been some of the recent focus of the presidential campaigns.  The event was the third and final joint event between the HLS and the Health Economics Law and Social Interests Group at the Indiana University School of Medicine, after the two groups hosted two panels in the fall of 2007, addressing health care reform.  Students of both groups were also given the opportunity to speak with Mr. Azar and a large group of practicing attorneys from the Indianapolis area during a reception held afterwards.  Mr. Azar came to Eli Lilly in the fall of 2007 and this was his first speaking engagement at the law school.  The HLS seeks to provide its membership with speakers who are on the forefront of health law issues.  During the 2006-2007 academic year, the HLS hosted Ken Stella, then President of the Indiana Health and Hospital Association.