The Journal of contemporary health law and policy
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Like many other countries, Australia is increasingly being forced to face the spiralling costs of health care. Population increases, an aging population, and the high cost of many items of modern medical equipment and of medical care generally, have all contributed to the pressure on health care resources. Within this climate of resource scarcity, more and more questions are being asked about the prioritization of items of health expenditure. The aim of this article is to consider the claim of reproductive technology, prenatal care, and prenatal diagnosis on health care resources and to evaluate the balance between treatments and preventative measures.
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J Contemp Health Law Policy · Jan 1993
Statutory caps: an involuntary contribution to the medical malpractice insurance crisis or a reasonable mechanism for obtaining affordable health care?
A medical malpractice insurance crisis occurred in the mid-1970s and mid-1980s evidenced by escalating malpractice insurance rates and increasing numbers of malpractice claims. Insurance companies maintained that the increase in insurance rates was necessary because of the sharp rise in the number of malpractice lawsuits, astronomical damage awards, and ineffective mechanisms to prevent and to eliminate nonmeritorious claims. Physicians responded by forming their own insurance companies, cancelling high-risk procedures, and orchestrating intensive legislative lobbying for tort reform. ⋯ Part III discusses the Health Care Bill and its impact on medical malpractice legislation with respect to statutory caps. This Comment concludes that a compromise must be reached that addresses both the growing health care insurance crisis and the protection of individual rights. The Health Care Liability Reform and Quality of Care Improvement Act of 1992 attempts to achieve this compromise.
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J Contemp Health Law Policy · Jan 1993
Donaldson v. Van de Kamp: cryonics, assisted suicide, and the challenges of medical science.
In recent years, advances in medical science have left the legal community with a wide array of social, ethical, and legal problems previously unimaginable. Historically, legislative and judicial responses to these advances lagged behind the rapid pace of such developments. The gap between the scientist's question, "Can we do it?," and the lawyer's question, "Should/may we do it?'" is most evident in the field of cryonics, with its technique of cryonic, or cryogenic, suspension. ⋯ Additionally, in light of Donaldson's First Amendment challenge to the statute, the court upheld the criminal statute prohibiting the aiding, advising, or encouraging of another to commit suicide. This Note briefly discusses the process of cryonic suspension and explores the holding of Donaldson in light of the underlying rationale of the California right-to-die cases. Considering the contradictory state and individual interests balanced in the right-to-die cases, this Note concludes that, under a similar balancing test, premortem cryonic suspension could be permitted under certain circumstances; however, the right to premortem cryonic suspension may be more effectively recognized through legislation.