Professor Wendy Epstein named a 2016 health law scholar

The American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics and Saint Louis University School of Law recently named DePaul Associate Professor Wendy Epstein a 2016 Health Law Scholar for her work-in-progress “Price Transparency and Incomplete Contracts in Health Care.”

The Health Law Scholars Workshop recognizes the achievements of junior faculty in health law and bioethics. Each year, health law professors choose four exceptional works from emerging scholars in these fields. The honorees are invited to Saint Louis University Law School in September to present their pieces to a gathering of health law scholars, who will provide feedback and guidance on the thesis. Many participants subsequently get their articles published in notable law journals. Epstein's fellow scholars are Rachel Sachs of Washington University in St. Louis School of Law, Elizabeth McCuskey of University of Toledo College of Law, and Jasmine Harris of UC Davis School of Law.

Epstein's “Price Transparency” analyzes the issues with the use of open price term contracts for medical services. Currently, the law permits patients to consent to medical procedures without knowing how much they will cost, which often causes the patient to incur significant fees and possible debt. In the article, Epstein argues in favor of the use of “patient-provider” contracts. Since, with rare exception (e.g. emergency care, complicated surgeries), medical providers can readily reveal pricing information, both parties would be better served with this openness.

In addition to “Price Transparency,” Epstein has had articles featured in numerous journals. The Yale Journal of Health Policy, Law, and Ethics is set to publish her “Revisiting Incentive-Based Contracts” in a 2017 edition. Other recent publications include “Facilitating Incomplete Contracts” (65 Case W. Res. L. Rev. 297 (2015)), “Contract Theory and the Failures of Public-Private Contracting” (34 Cardozo L. Rev. 2211 (2013)), and “Public-Private Contracting and the Reciprocity Norm” (the lead article in 64 Am. U. L. Rev. 1 (2014)). Her scholarship can be found on her SSRN page.

Epstein has been a member of DePaul’s College of Law faculty since 2013. She currently teaches Contracts and Health Care Law and is faculty director of the Mary and Michael Jaharis Health Law Institute.