ANNALS OF HEALTH LAW
THE HEALTH POLICY AND LAW REVIEW OF
LOYOLA UNIVERSITY CHICAGO SCHOOL OF LAW
Beazley Institute for Health Law and Policy
VOLUME 24, ISSUE 1 WINTER 2015
CONTENTS
Foreword ............................................................................................................................ i
ARTICLES
Enforcing Mental Health Parity through the Affordable Care Act’s
Essential Health Benefit Mandate
Kathleen G. Noonan and Stephen J. Boraske........................................................................ 252
The Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act,
paired with the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, expanded health insurance
coverage to millions of previously uninsured Americans and guaranteed that new
insurance policies cover mental health and substance abuse treatment. This article
examines how these recent pieces of legislation can be used to remedy the problems
associated with the current model’s ineffective enforcement of insurance regulations and
proposes that more inclusive essential health benefit definitions and an expansion of
monitored, certified health plans in health insurance Marketplaces can provide increased
future access to this crucial health coverage.
Access and Innovation in a Time of Rapid Change:
Physician Assistant Scope of Practice
Ann Davis, Stephanie M. Radix, James F. Cawley, Roderick S. Hooker, and
Carson S. Walker ............................................................................................................... 286
In the 1960s, the profession of physician assistant rose to prominence and has since
transformed the landscape of the medical profession by supplementing and supporting
the work of overextended physicians. This article discusses the history of physician
assistant practice and its expansion over the years to include many tasks that were once
considered the sole domain of the physician. Gradual recognition by medical
professionals and lawmakers alike has shaped the unique determinants of physician
assistant scope of practice to include a wide range of primary, specialty, and
subspecialty care, and has the potential to further shape the development of the health
care provider community.
