HEALTH LAW SECTION WEB LINKS

These links are provided only for the convenience of guests at this site.  No endorsement is intended of any of the listed sites or products, and no warranty is made as to the accuracy of any information at any of the linked sites, www.wsba.org/disclaimer.htm.
Please send your suggestions for additions or changes to Jason Smith, Chair, WSBA Health Law Section, jsmith2@ehcmail.com.

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AGENCIES

Department of Defense: Military Health Plan: www.tricare.osd.mil/  

Department Of Health And Human Services:

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality: http://www.ahrq.gov/

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry: http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/

Center for Disease Control: http://www.cdc.gov/

 National Center for Health Statistics: www.cdc.gov/nchs/

Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS): http://www.cms.hhs.gov/

Regulations and guidance: www.cms.hhs.gov/home/regsguidance.asp

CMS Medicaid Sites
 
Medicaid information: www.cms.hhs.gov/medicaid/
 
Medicaid Fraud Statutes www.cms.hhs.gov/FraudStateStatutes/

Medicaid waivers: http://www.cms.hhs.gov/MedicaidStWaivProgDemoPGI/
 
CMS Medicare Sites

CMS Mailing Lists: www.cms.hhs.gov/apps/mailinglists/

Medicare for Consumers (Prescription Drug Program): http://www.medicare.gov/

 Medicare for Providers: www.cms.hhs.gov/home/medicare.asp

 Coverage http://www.cms.hhs.gov/CoverageGenInfo/

 Hospitals http://www.cms.hhs.gov/center/hospital.asp

 Medicare Learning Network (free) www.cms.hhs.gov/medlearn

Provider/Supplier Types and Resources: http://www.cms.hhs.gov/center/provider.asp

Provider Reimbursement Review Board: www.cms.hhs.gov/PRRBReview/

Medicare Contractors

(Note that Medicare Contracting Reform required by the 2003 Medicare Modernization Act is changing the way CMS contracts.   See http://www.cms.hhs.gov/MedicareContractingReform/ )

Carrier for Washington (Part B Claims): Noridian Administrative Services http://www.noridianmedicare.com/

Coordination of Benefits Contractor (Medicare Secondary Payer) http://www.cms.hhs.gov/COBGeneralInformation/01_overview.asp

Durable Medical Equipment Regional Carrier: Noridian Administrative Services
http://www.noridianmedicare.com/

Home Health Agencies/Hospice: United Government Services, LLC: http://www.ugsmedicare.com/

Intermediary for Washington (Part A Claims): Noridian Administrative Services: http://www.noridianmedicare.com/  And Mutual of Omaha, http://www.wpsmedicare.com/part_a/index.shtml

Program Safeguard Contractor for Washington: Computer Sciences Corporation, maintains the Western Integrity Center to detect and prevent Medicare waste, fraud, and abuse, www.csc.com/ (Search for Western Integrity Center)

Quality Improvement Organizations (QIO): http://www.cms.hhs.gov/QualityImprovementOrgs/  (Click on directory to find the QIO for each state.)(Formerly known as Professional Review Organizations)  Washington's QIO is Qualis Health Care: http://www.qualishealth.org/  Medicare beneficiaries can appeal to Qualis to review a discharge notice from a hospital, skilled nursing facility, home health agency, hospice or comprehensive outpatient rehabilitation facility.

Qualified Independent Contractors (QICs) provide independent review of decisions made by other contractors denying reimbursement for services. www.Medicare.gov/Basics/appealsoverview.asp. The QIC for Washington is First Coast Service Options, Inc. for decisions on Part A and B: http://www.fcso.com/. Rivertrust Solutions is the QIC for Durable Medical Equipment decisions: www.rivertrustsolutions.com

Rural Health Clinics: Riverbend Government Benefits Administrator: http://www.riverbendgba.com/

Departmental Appeals Board: www.os.dhhs.gov/dab

Form to request review of an ALJ's decision: www.hhs.gov/dab/DAB101.pdf
Section 521 of the Medicare, Medicaid and SCHIP Benefits Improvement Act of 2000 (BIPA) amended the Medicare appeals process for Part A and Part B benefits.  See CMS Ruling 02-1 for an explanation. www.cms.hhs.gov/Rulings/CMSR/list.asp   Final regulations were published March 8, 2005. www.gpo.gov/su_docs/fedreg/frcont05.html  

Food and Drug Administration: http://www.fda.gov/

FDA Safety Information and Adverse Event Reporting Program www.fda.gov/medwatch

Health Resources and Services Administration) (HRSA): www.hrsa.gov/

Indian Health Service: www.ihs.gov/

Inspector General: www.oig.hhs.gov/ 

Enforcement actions: www.oig.hhs.gov/fraud/enforcementactions.html

Exclusions: http://oig.hhs.gov/fraud/exclusions.html

Fraud alerts, bulletins and other guidance: http://oig.hhs.gov/fraud/fraudalerts.html#3

Regulations: http://oig.hhs.gov/authorities/regulatory.html

Work Plan for current year: http://oig.hhs.gov/publications/workplan.html#1

National Health Information Center, Consumer information: http://www.healthfinder.gov/

National Institutes of Health (NIH): http://www.nih.gov/

National Practitioner Data Bank (Established by Health Care Quality Improvement Act of l986 to improve quality of care) and Healthcare Integrity and Protection Data Bank (Established by HIPAA to combat fraud and abuse): http://www.npdb-hipdb.com/

Office for Civil Rights (HIPAA  Privacy Enforcement): www.os.dhhs.gov/ocr

Office of General Counsel: www.os.dhhs.gov/ogc

Office for Human Research Protections: www.hhs.gov/ohrp

Office of National Coordinator for Health Information Technology: www.hhs.gov/healthit/

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services: www.samhsa.gov/index.aspx

Department of Justice: Health Care Fraud and Abuse Control Program: www.usdoj.gov/dag/pubdoc.html

Department of the Treasury: Health Savings Accounts: www.ustreas.gov/offices/public-affairs/hsa/

Department of Veterans Affairs: Veterans Health Administration: http://www.va.gov/

Federal Trade Commission: Anti Trust Information: www.ftc.gov/bc/healthcare/antitrust/index.htm

Government Accountability Office (reports on health) http://www.gao.gov/

WASHINGTON STATE GOVERNMENT AGENCIES

Department of Health: http://www.doh.wa.gov/

Center for Health Statistics, hospital data on charity care: www.doh.wa.gov/ehsphl/hospdata/CharityCare/default.htm

Credentials of Health Care Professionals: http://www.doh.wa.gov/hsqa/licensing.htm

Health Professions Quality Assurance Commission (State agency responsible for licensing health care professionals): http://www.doh.wa.gov/ click on Programs and Services, then click on Health Professions Quality Assurance Commission

Washington State Board of Health (Has a Bill Watch for Bills introduced into the Washington Legislature): www.doh.wa.gov/sboh/default.htm

Department of Licensing, List of licenses: www.dol.wa.gov/  Then click on list of licenses.

Department of Social and Health Services: http://www.dshs.wa.gov/

Finding DSHS services: http://www1.dshs.wa.gov/basicneeds/
(Go through above site and click on Finding Services)

Aging and Disability Services Administration: http://www.aasa.dshs.wa.gov/

Information for professionals: http://www.aasa.dshs.wa.gov/ (Go to cite and click on professionals)

Residential Care Services: http://www.aasa.dshs.wa.gov/professional/default.htm#RCS

Health & Recovery Services Administration: http://fortress.wa.gov/dshs/maa

Medicaid Managed Care Program (Healthy Options)
http://fortress.wa.gov/dshs/maa/HealthyOptions/

Insurance Commissioner: http://www.insurance.wa.gov/

Links to useful websites, including links to Washington Health Insurance Carriers: www.insurance.wa.gov/   Locate Consumers, and on the drop down menu, click on authorized companies. 

Health Care Authority: http://www.hca.wa.gov/

Basic Health Plan (Health Insurance for Washington low-income residents): www.basichealth.hca.wa.gov/

Public Employees Benefit Board (Health Insurance for State employees): http://www.pebb.hca.wa.gov/

Community Health Services (Funds clinics): http://www.chs.hca.wa.gov/

Prescription Drug Program: http://www.rx.wa.gov/

Health Care Facilities Authority (Helps fund construction of non-profit health care facilities): http://www.whcfa.wa.gov/

Washington State Health Insurance Pool (For Washington residents who have been denied coverage): www.wship.org/Default.asp

LOCAL GOVERNMENT AGENCIES

King County Government – health: www.metrokc.gov/health

Washington State local Health Departments/Districts: www.doh.wa.gov/LHJMAP/LHJMAP.htm

ASSOCIATIONS - ACCREDITATION

Accreditation Association of Ambulatory Health Care http://www.aaahc.org/

Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organizations www.jcaho.org/

National Committee for Quality Assurance www.ncqa.org/

ASSOCIATIONS - HEALTH CARE ORGANIZATIONS

American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (AAHSA) www.aahsa.org/

America's Health Insurance Plans (Health Insurance Association of America): www.ahip.org/

American Health Care Association (AHCA): www.ahcancal.org/

American Health Information Management Association www.ahima.org/

Healthcare Companies News – updates on developments in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and healthcare industries: www.prnewswire.com/ , click on Industry and Markets, then click on Health News.

Healthcare Financial Management Association: www.hfma.org/

Health Care Compliance Association www.hcca-info.org/

Medical Group Management Association: http://www.mgma.com/

ASSOCIATIONS – HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS (Institutions)

American Hospital Association: www.hospitalconnect.com/aha/resource_center/links.jsp

Association of Washington Public Hospital Districts: www.awphd.org/default.asp

Washington State Hospital Association: www.wsha.org/

ASSOCIATIONS  - HEALTH LAWYERS

American Bar Association Health Law Section: www.abanet.org/health

American Health Lawyers Association: www.healthlawyers.org/

American Society of Law, Medicine and Ethics www.aslme.org/

ASSOCIATIONS - INTERNATIONAL

International Committee of the Red Cross, Geneva, Switzerland: www.icrc.org/

Medicines Control Agency, UK – medicines regulation process in UK, and European initiatives: www.mhra.gov.uk/

World Health Organization: www.who.int/en/

ASSOCIATIONS - MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS

American Chiropractic Association: www.amerchiro.org/

American College of Physicians/American Society of Internal Medicine: www.acponline.org/

American College of Surgeons: www.facs.org/

American Medical Association: www.americanmedicalassociation.org/
( or American Medical Association www.ama-assn.org/)

American Nurses Association: www.nursingworld.org/

American Osteopathic Association: www.osteopathic.org/

American Society of Anesthesiologists: www.asahq.org/

Association of State and Territorial Health Officials: www.astho.org/

Clinical Laboratory Management Association: www.clma.org/

National Association of Boards of Pharmacy  www.nabp.net/

Verified internet pharmacy practice sites: www.nabp.net/ , click on accreditation programs, and then click on VIPPS

National Association of Managed Care Physicians: www.namcp.com/

Washington State Medical Association:  www.wsma.org/

Washington State Nurses Association: www.wsna.org/

HEALTH CARE ADVOCACY

Buyers of health care working to improve quality, safety, affordability: www.leapfroggroup.org/home

Center for Medicare Advocacy www.medicareadvocacy.org/

Long-term care ombudsman in each state: www.ltcombudsman.org/

Washington State Long Term Care Ombudsman (in each county): www.ltcop.org/
(Click on "Find an Ombudsman" which leads to a list by county)

National Citizens' Coalition for Nursing Home Reform: www.nccnhr.org/

National Health Law Program: www.healthlaw.org/

Northwest Health Law Advocates www.nohla.org/

Northwest Justice Law Project's online guide to charity care: Health topics

Public Citizen Health Research Group: www.citizen.org/hrg/

SHIBA (Statewide Health Insurance Benefits Advisors – trained volunteers who help consumers with health insurance questions) www.insurance.wa.gov/

HEALTH CARE BUSINESS INFORMATION

Alans S. Golberg's Law Technology & Change http://world.std.com/~goldberg

American Health Information Management Association www.ahima.org/

Atlantic Information Services: www.aishealth.com/ 

Hipaa: www.hipaabasics.net/

Medical Economics Magazine for Physicians www.memag.com/

Modern Healthcare (Business News): www.modernhealthcare.com/

HEALTH CARE POLICY

Cato Institute's Health Studies: www.cato.org/healthcare/index.html

Center for Studying Health System Change (non-partisan health policy think tank and research center) www.hschange.org/

Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: www.cbpp.org/pubs/health.htm

Century Foundation's Medicare Watch: www.medicarewatch.org/

Dartmouth Atlas of Health Care: www.dartmouthatlas.org/

Duke University Center for Health Policy, Law & Management:  www.hpolicy.duke.edu/

Georgetown University Center on an Aging Society: http://hpi.georgetown.edu/agingsociety/

Health Affairs, The Policy Journal of the Health Sphere: www.healthaffairs.org/

Health data and health policy information on all 50 states (Kaiser Family Foundation): www.statehealthfacts.org/

Kaiser Family Foundation (Main website): www.kff.org/
www.kaiseredu.org/ ( issues modules, reference libraries, and academic tutorials ) www.kaisernetwork.org/ (news summaries, transcripts and webcasts of congressional hearings, issue briefings and other health policy events)
 
National Academy for State Health Policy: http://www.nashp.org/

National Health Policy Forum (George Washington University): www.nhpf.org/ 

Rand Health: www.rand.org/health

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation: www.rwjf.org/index.jsp

Health data and health policy information on all 50 states (Kaiser Family Foundation): http://www.statehealthfacts.org/

Telemedicine Information Exchange: http://telemed.org/

U.W. School of Public Health and Community Medicine, Glossary of HealthCare and HealthCare Management Terms (Useful for understanding terms used in Health Care Reform): http://depts.Washington.edu/hsic/resource/glossary.html

HEALTH LAW JOURNALS

List of Health Law Journals: http://stu.findlaw.com/journals/health.html/

Most cited Legal Periodicals, Washington and Lee University, School of Law (e.g. search for Medicine, Health and the Law)  http://law.wlu.edu/library/research/lawrevs/mostcited.asp

Journal of Health Law, Saint Louis University School of Law (Publication of American Health Lawyers Association):  http://law.slu.edu/ , then click on journals/publications, then click on Journal of Health Law

LAWS

Federal Laws

Compilation of Social Security Laws: www.ssa.gov/OP_Home/ssact/comp-ssa.htm
(Title XVIII is Medicare, Title XIX is Medicaid, Title XXI is SCHIP, Title XI contains general provisions, Peer Review and Administrative Simplification)

Congressional Digest (Vol. 83, issue 2) has a summary of the Medicare Modernization Act, including a summary of the conference committee report.

Emergency Medical Treatment Active Labor Act ( EMTALA): www.cms.hhs.gov/EMTALA/
 
(Michigan Law Firm's website on Emtala):  http://www.emtala.com/

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA): http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/hipaa/

Health Law Web Sites

Hieros Gamos health law:  www.hg.org/health.html

Policy and regulatory materials related to health care:  http://hippo.findlaw.com/hippohome.html

(For general law websites, www.wsba.org/lawyers/links/default.htm )

MANAGED CARE

Information on companies that provide products and services to payers, purchasers http://www.managedcaremarketplace.com/

Managed Care Information Center: http://www.themcic.com/

Washington's Basic Health Plan (A state-sponsored managed care plan offered through private insurance companies for low-income people) http://www.basichealth.hca.wa.gov/

MEDICAL INFORMATION

A portal of web sites by U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and other Federal departments and agencies:  http://www.health.gov/

American Academy of Family Physicians: http://www.familydoctor.org/

CDC Travel Information: http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/default.aspx

Centerwatch Clinical Trials Listing Service – an international listing: http://www.centerwatch.com/

CNN.com (Health) www.cnn.com/HEALTH

Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics www.bls.gov/

Dr. Koop: www.drkoop.com/

Drug comparisons: Oregon Drug Effectiveness Review Project: http://www.ohsu.edu/drugeffectiveness/, Consumer Union's "Best Buy Drugs": www.crbestbuydrugs.org/ , AARP's "Choosing the Right Prescription Drug": www.aarp.org/researchRx

Eli Lilly and Company clinical trial registry: http://www.lillytrials.com/

Health Hippo http://hippo.findlaw.com/

Institute of Medicine:  http://www.iom.edu/

Mayo Clinic: http://www.mayoclinic.com/

MEDEM: An Information Partnership of Medical Societies: www.medem.com/

Medicine Net: http://www.medicinenet.com/

Medline Plus (National Library of Medicine health information): http://medlineplus.gov/

Medscape (an integrated web product for professionals: http://www.medscape.com/ 

Med Web at Emory University: www.MedWeb.Emory.edu/MedWeb/

MedWorld: MedBot: Super Search: http://medworld.Stanford.edu/medbot

Merck Manuals: www.merck.com/pubs/

Multimedia Medical Reference Library http://medforums.net/

National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI): http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/

National Institutes of Health (NIH): http://www.nih.gov/

National Library of Medicine www.nlm.nih.gov/

Free archive of biomedical and life sciences journals: www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/

Medical Dictionary: www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/mplusdictionary.html

Search for biomedical journals: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi

Net Wellness (Consumer health information created and evaluated by faculty at University of Cincinnati, Ohio State University and Case Western Reserve University): http://www.netwellness.org/

Nursing Journals: www.nursingcenter.com/library/index.asp

Vioxx Refunds: www.vioxx.com/ (Merck information), www.fda.gov/cder/drug/infopage/COX2/default.htm
 (FDA information)

WebMD: http://www.webmd.com/

STATE BAR ASSOCIATIONS' HEALTH LAW SECTION WEBSITES

Florida Bar Association: http://www.flabarhls.org/

Minnesota Bar Association: www.mnbar.org/  (Then click on sections and health law)

UNIVERSITY LINKS TO HEALTH LAW WEB SITES

Cleveland State University, Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, Health Law links: www.law.csuohio.edu/  click on Library, scroll down to Web Research Resources, click on "Research and Resource Guides by Subject" and click on "Health Law Resource Guide"

Cornell University Legal Information Institute: www.law.cornell.edu/wex/index.php/Health

(Dalhouse University Health Law Sites: http://law.dal.ca/hli/   Click on "related sites"

Georgetown and Johns Hopkins Universities, The Center for Law and the Public's Health: www.publichealthlaw.net/

Louisiana State University Program in Law, Science and Public Health: http://biotech.law.lsu.edu/

Saint Louis University Center for Health Law Studies: http://law.slu.edu/healthlaw Click on research, then health law links  

Seton Hall University: http://law.shu.edu/library/HealthLinks.htm
 
University of Houston, Health Law and Policy links: www.law.uh.edu/healthlaw
Or Houston Journal of Health Law and Policy www.law.uh.edu/hjhlp/

University of Indiana Health Law Websites: http://indylaw.indiana.edu/  Find Centers and Programs, click on Law and Health, then click on Health Law Websites

University of Washington School of Law Global Health & Justice Project: www.law.washington.edu/HealthLaw/GHJ