U.S. Legal System, Rulemaking, and Healthcare Law
When referring to a case, a typical legal citation will include what elements? Explain what
each element means in the citation Wagen v. Ford Motor Co., 97 Wis. 2d 260, 294 N.W. 2d
437 (1980),
Laws that control health care come from four sources. One source is state and federal
written constitutions.
� Identify and explain the three other sources of laws that control health care.
� Explain how the laws are made based on the source of that kind of law.
SLP Assignment Expectations
- Limit your responses to a maximum of two pages, including title and reference list pages.
- Be sure to utilize at least 2-3 scholarly sources to support your responses.
- Be sure to properly cite your references within the text of your assignment and listed at
the end.
Module 1 – SLP
Healthcare is one of the most important sectors in a country. There are healthcare laws
that must be met by the medical practitioners. It becomes important to understand the various
sources of these laws and there citation. The paper therefore delineates on the sources of laws
that control healthcare and provides an explanation of how these laws are made.
Citation is important in ensuring that a case is easy to follow and to trace. A case has
various elements that summarize the citation. For instance, in a case such as Wagen v. Ford
Motor Co., 97 Wis. 2d 260, 294 N.W. 2d 437 (1980), Wagen v. Ford Motor Co., is the case
name, 97 is the volume, N.W.2d represents the reporter and the series, 437 is the beginning page
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of the opinion while 1980 is the date. 97 Wis. 2d 260 is the citation to official reporter while 294
N.W. 2d 437 is a parallel citation to regional reporter (Gonzaga University, 2014).
Apart from the state and federal written constitutions, the other three sources of law that
control health care include precedents, customs and legislation. Precedents are often passed by
jurists in circumstances where there are no particular point where new legislation are passed
despite the changing conditions. The judges therefore, come up with various rules and laws
depending on their own sense of right and wrong. These decisions become the source of
authority. They are more flexible compared to customs and legislations (Bird, 2010). Customs on
the other hand are limited to a particular section, district or location or a class of people. Such
laws are not usually written as the people practice them daily. Such laws are also in healthcare
and control how people use and approach healthcare.
The last source of healthcare laws is legislation. Elected members of the national
assembly or the senate pass various laws relating to a given aspect concerning health. The house
members are granted with the authority to formulate, to amend and to delete laws to ensure that
health provision is enhanced (Lamm, 2004). Legislation has many other purpose including
regulation, authorization, proscribing, sanctioning, providing granting, declaring or restricting. In
most instances, legislation helps to cover up the skeletons provided in the constitution and
ensuring that the health provision becomes a success.
These laws are made differently. State or federal laws are written laws and are made
with the aid of a special committee members having specialist knowledge in matters of the
constitution. They draft the laws and allow people to give their views and afterward to vote for or
against the same. The jurists formulate precedents. They formulate the laws based on their sense
of right or wrong. These laws serve as guidance in subsequent matters that affect people. They
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also make laws that guide in the provision of healthcare. Customs are laws that guide or are
limited to a given jurisdiction. They have limitation in their application and are formulated by the
members of a given society. Most of them are passed on from one generation to another and are
repeated for a period.
Legislation takes a considerable period before they become law. There are defined stages
or processes that a bill goes through before it is assented to (Bird, 2010). A bill on a health issue
must be drafted and presented to the house for its first reading, then second reading, committee
stage, third reading before it is take to the president for assent if majority of members vote for it
to become law. The law then becomes operational and enforceable. A good example of such a
bill that became a law was the Obamacare.
In conclusion, laws are essential in smooth functioning of various processes. Healthcare
requires control for it to run and operate efficiently. Various sources of laws do exist that help in
promotion of healthcare. Understanding and appreciating these sources is important in ensuring
that better and quality healthcare is provided.
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References
Bird, R. (2010). Law as a source of strategic advantage: The Many Futures of Legal Strategy.
American Business Law Journal, 47:575
Gonzaga University. (2014). Understanding citations to cases, statutory codes & legal