Health Care Law

Health care law is not a specific area like contract law, tort law, or property law. Rather, many different areas of the law comprise health care law.

Health care law impacts who can receive health care services and who should pay for these services. This makes health care one of the largest and most heavily regulated industries in the world. An industry this large — closely tied to human health and survival — is complex. And where there are complex regulations, there are attorneys.

What Is Health Care Law?
As a body of law, health care law is difficult to describe. Health care law combines administrative and regulatory law, health law, contract and tort law, employment law, and judicial precedent. Health care law focuses on the legislative, executive, and judicial rules and regulations that govern the health care industry.

Why Is Health Care Law Growing?
Health care law is a growing field because the regulatory maze that oversees the health care industry is almost impossible for non-lawyers to navigate. Moreover, federal and state agencies are tackling health care fraud and abuse, requiring close compliance. And government agencies are vigorously enforcing antitrust laws to encourage robust competition for the benefit of consumers.

What Does a Health Care Lawyer Do?
While many areas of law are stagnant or shrinking, health care law remains critical. Health care lawyers represent a broad range of health care professionals and entities, including: