The University of Houston Law Center offers one of the largest and most comprehensive health law curricula in the country. Coursework in the related fields of intellectual property, environmental law, international law, business/transactional law, trial advocacy, and other areas complement the health law curriculum. Students may enroll in relevant courses offered by other graduate programs at UH, The University of Texas-Houston School of Public Health, and The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. Faculty members with national and international reputations teach core health law classes and successful practicing attorneys serve as adjunct professors, ensuring that UH law students learn from leading experts in the field.
BIOETHICS explores the legal, social, and ethical implications of issues such as informed consent, genetic screening, defining death, withholding and withdrawing life sustaining treatment, assisted reproduction, research involving human participants, and anatomical gifts.
DISABILITIES & THE LAW examines the rights of people with disabilities in the American legal system, focusing on federal statutes such as the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Rehabilitation Act, and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, as well as the broader disability rights movement.
E-HEALTH analyzes regulatory and legal challenges related to virtual care delivery, including telehealth, AI-driven care, and data analytics, with a focus on evolving federal and state legal frameworks.
ELDER LAW covers legal issues affecting older adults, including elder abuse, advance directives, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, long-term care, estate recovery, and veterans' benefits.
EMPLOYEE BENEFITS PLANS & COMPENSATION introduces students to the Employment Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) and related tax rules governing employee benefits, with a focus on health, retirement, and executive compensation plans.
FDA LAW surveys the regulation of drugs, biologics, biosimilars, and medical devices, with a focus on the federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act and intersecting state pharmacy laws.
FRAUD AND ABUSE LAW analyzes civil and criminal enforcement mechanisms in healthcare, including the federal Anti-Kickback statute, the anti-referral or Stark Law, the False Claims Act, and state fraud and abuse laws, as well as government strategies for investigating and prosecuting violations.
GENETICS & THE LAW examines legal issues surrounding the use of genetic information across several areas of law, including property, criminal, family, antidiscrimination, public health, and privacy law contexts.
GLOBAL HEALTH LAW introduces students to the norms, processes, institutions, and actors that shape global governance for health, examining legal responses to transnational health challenges through ethics, justice, and international legal frameworks.
HEALTH & TECHNOLOGY examines the interplay between health, law, and consumer technology, covering the evolution of food and drug laws, the rise of digital health and wearables, and emerging challenges posed by new technology.
HEALTH CARE INSTITUTIONS provides a foundation in federal and Texas laws governing health care entities, with a focus on academic medical centers and emerging health sector actors. Topics covered include hospital liability, quality assurance activities, EMTALA, patient rights, human subjects research, and graduate medical education.
HEALTH CARE TRANSACTIONS gives students practical experience structuring and analyzing transactions common to hospitals and health systems, including conducting client interviews, negotiating and drafting contracts, conducting due diligence, and regulatory analysis.
HEALTH CARE COMPLIANCE explores compliance programs in health organizations. In addition to learning about the federal and state laws governing these programs, students learn how to build effective and ethical compliance programs, and how to handle internal investigations and enforcement actions.
HEALTH LAW FINANCE AND TRANSACTIONS provides students with an understanding of how the health care system is organized, financed, and regulated. Topics include federal and state regulation of private health insurance (including the Affordable Care Act), Medicare and Medicaid, the tax laws governing tax-exempt health care organizations, antitrust laws, and the fraud and abuse laws.
HEALTH LAW RESEARCH trains students to locate and analyze federal and state legal materials related to health, including statutes, regulations, agency guidance, and case law, as well as specialized secondary materials.
HEALTH LEGISLATION AND ADVOCACY teaches students how to develop, draft, and promote health law proposals through legislative and administrative processes. Students have opportunities to testify or meet with current Texas legislators and staff, and guest speakers provide real-world perspectives on the policymaking process.
HIPAA provides a detailed overview of the HIPAA Privacy Rule, explaining requirements for protected health information and permissible disclosures.
HOT TOPICS IN HEALTH LAW explores contemporary issues in health law, with students presenting and writing a paper on topics of interest. Student papers may be published online by the Houston Journal of Health Law & Policy.
INSURANCE LAW & JUSTICE explores the federal and state laws governing insurance, including health and life insurance, with an emphasis on how conflicting notions of justice affect legal doctrines and policies.
MENTAL HEALTH LAW examines civil and criminal legal issues relating to mental health care, including civil commitment, the impact of mental health issues on criminal procedures, and mental health care policy.
PRIVATE INVESTMENT IN HEALTHCARE surveys legal and business frameworks for healthcare deals, focusing on investment and deal structures, common healthcare contracts, compliance risks, ethical concerns, and proposed regulatory reforms.
PUBLIC HEALTH examines public health law, governing principles, and challenges. Topics include the state’s emergency powers, public health surveillance, disease control measures, regulation of health behavior, and privacy issues.
REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS introduces legal and ethical issues in reproductive health, including the regulation of sex, pregnancy, and reproductive decision-making, considering these issues from both historical and contemporary contexts.
REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS & JUSTICE (SEMINAR) explores the evolving law and theory of reproductive regulation, emphasizing rights and justice frameworks in a post-Dobbs legal environment.
TAXATION OF EXEMPT ORGANIZATIONS introduces the taxation and governance of nonprofit organizations, including academic medical centers and other hospitals, highlighting both the relevant laws and tax planning techniques.
THE LAW OF PATIENT CARE examines bioethics and legal doctrines in medical care, covering medical malpractice, informed consent, health privacy, access to care, and end-of-life decision-making.
VACCINE LAW explores the legal and policy issues related to the development, regulation, licensure, and distribution of vaccines, including vaccination mandates, bioterrorism and pandemic response, and compensation for vaccine adverse events. The course also acquaints students with issues in vaccine laws from an international and comparative point of view.
*The above is a list of previously offered health law courses. Not all classes are offered every year, and offerings are subject to change.
