A presentation by a former analyst in the White House Budget Office kicked off a celebration of the law school’s Health Law Program on Nov. 17.

Richard Toner, a former senior analyst with the White House Budget Office, discussed the process of implementing a health care policy reform as extensive as the Affordable Care Act, which required input from myriad agencies at varied levels of federal government.

“You cannot have enough lawyers in the White House,” said Toner, who is now director of reimbursement at Temple University Health System. “Everything hinges on someone’s interpretation of statute.”

President-elect Donald Trump’s vow to revise the law will spark a tremendous amount of additional legal work, Toner said.

“There’s so much law and regulation related to health that didn’t exist six years ago,” he added.

A reception brought together students, faculty and some of the 82 alumni who have graduated with concentrations in Health Law after completing co-op placements that gave them direct experience in the practice of health law and are now working in an array of legal settings, including hospitals, insurance companies, law firms and public agencies.

The event is just the first of its kind at the school, said Professor Robert Field, who directs the JD-MPH program that is offered in tandem with the Dornsife School of Public Health.  Field organized the event with Professor Barry Furrow, Health Law program director, and 3l Mara Smith.

“We’re looking to be a resource,” Field said. “We want to build a strong community.”

In its first decade, the Health Law program has organized and co-hosted a wide variety of conferences and symposia that include:

•    Crossroads: Crime, Community and Public Health Symposium
•    Health Law on the Go: the Law & Business of mHealth
•    Book-signing with new releases by Professors Robert Field and Barry Furrow
•    Social Media, Deceptive Research and Informed Consent Presentation
•    Chilled to the Marrow: Compensating Tissue and Organ Donors Conference