The materials in this section aim to answer questions about how laws are impacting public health and why. The materials lie along a spectrum that speaks to the strength of the evidence, or how thoroughly researchers have been able to evaluate whether a law is improving public health or not.
What We Know
Research Results
Results from grant-funded research projects evaluating public health law issues.
Laws, Data & Maps
Buprenorphine Prescribing Requirements and Limitations
Product Type:Drug Decriminalization Laws
More than one million people are arrested annually for drug possession across the United States. People charged with and convicted of criminal drug offenses can face devastating collateral consequences, including eviction, unemployment, loss of the right to vote, and deportation. Research shows that criminalization of drug possession contributes to the marginalization of people with substance use disorders, results in stark racial disparities, and costs billions of dollars.
Product Type:Incarceration Effects on Medicaid Status
The federal Medicaid Inmate Exclusion Policy (MIEP) generally prohibits federal matching funds from being used to pay for health care provided to most adults incarcerated in public institutions. For justice-involved individuals, this means that during incarceration the criminal justice system is responsible for inmate health care and that Medicaid enrollment may be either terminated or suspended, leading to gaps in Medicaid coverage at release.
Product Type:CityHealth
CityHealth, in partnership with the Center for Public Health Law Research at Temple University’s Beasley School of Law and other evaluation partners, rated America’s 75 largest cities on their combined quality and quantity of 12 policies in place in areas that can improve people’s access to healthy choices and address critical health disparities in local communities.
Product Type:Laws Addressing Public Health Authority to Respond to Emergencies
This longitudinal dataset captures laws addressing authority to respond to public health emergencies that were enacted between May 21, 2022, and October 6, 2023, in all 50 US states and the District of Columbia.
Product Type:State Bills Relating to Vaccines in Schools and Provider Scopes of Practice
This longitudinal dataset captures legislation addressing school entry vaccination requirements, non-medical exemptions to school vaccination requirements, the reallocation of authority to determine vaccination requirements for schools, and expansions to provider scope of practice to administer vaccines between January 1, 2023, and May 22, 2023, in all 50 US states and the District of Columbia.
Product Type:Prior Authorization Policies for Pediatric ADHD Medication Prescriptions – Selected Managed Care Plans
This dataset examines features of prior authorization policies in the Medicaid managed care plans of five states (Georgia, Illinois, Nevada, New Jersey, and South Carolina) selected to be case studies for ADHD medication prior authorization in managed care. Features examined relate to pediatric ADHD medication treatment, including applicable ages, medication types, and criteria for approval in effect as of April 1, 2023.
Product Type:Prior Authorization Policies for Pediatric ADHD Medication Prescriptions
This dataset examines features of state Medicaid prior authorization policies that pertain to pediatric ADHD medication treatment, including applicable ages, medication types, and criteria for approval.
Product Type:ASTHO’s Public Health Legal Mapping Center
Public Health and law are interwoven, shaping how communities interact and people experience the world around them. Legal mapping is the scientific process of analyzing state laws concerning a particular legal topic at either a particular point in time (cross-sectional) or its change over a period of time (longitudinal). This page features ASTHO’s legal mapping work to plot the legal landscape for public health priorities, beginning with policies intended to prevent overdose.
Product Type:Good Samaritan Overdose Prevention Laws
Unintentional drug overdose is a leading cause of preventable death in the United States. Some states have enacted "Good Samaritan" laws that create immunities or other legal protections for people who call for help in the event of an overdose to encourage and protect bystanders who may otherwise not be willing to call for fear of being arrested for drug-related crimes. The protection afforded by these laws varies from state to state.
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