. Makhlouf’s Scholarship on Federalism and Immigrant Eligibility for Medicaid Reviewed in JOTWELL

MEDHA D. MAKHLOUF’S SCHOLARSHIP ON FEDERALISM AND IMMIGRANT ELIGIBILITY FOR MEDICAID REVIEWED IN JOTWELL

November 2020 — Professor Medha D. Makhlouf’s forthcoming article was recently identified as “one of the best works of recent scholarship relating to Health Law” by Professor Jessica Lind Mantel, JOTWELL contributor and Co-Director of the Health Law & Policy Center at the University of Houston Law Center. Professor Makhlouf’s article, titled “Laboratories of Exclusion: Medicaid, Federalism & Immigrants,” will be published in the New York University Law Review next month. In her JOTWELL review of this article, Professor Mantel highlights the immediate relevance of Professor Makhlouf’s analysis of federalism’s role in health policy: As the COVID-19 pandemic surges in the United States, the weaknesses of a decentralized approach to combatting it are increasingly apparent.

Professor Makhlouf’s Laboratories of Exclusion article builds on Professor Makhlouf’s prior article entitled, “Health Justice for Immigrants.” Health Justice for Immigrants presents pragmatic and ethical reasons for including noncitizens in the “universe” of universal health care. Having addressed the question of why noncitizens should be included in progressive health reform efforts, Professor Makhlouf’s new article focuses on how to do it. Her analysis provides the necessary background on how federalism has shaped states’ policies on noncitizen access to Medicaid, the primary means by which low-income households obtain health insurance. By providing a case study for understanding the efficacy of federalism arrangements in achieving equity for those who were left behind in the last round of health reform, it offers insights to scholars of federalism, health law, and immigration; policymakers interested in expanding access to health care; and advocates for health equity.

Professor Mantel’s review of Laboratories of Exclusion appears in the Health Law section of JOTWELL. JOTWELL, the Journal of Things We Like (Lots), is intended to provide a space where legal scholars can go to identify and celebrate the latest work of their colleagues. The goal is to help JOTWELL’s readers locate interesting developments both inside and outside of their particular areas of interest and to encourage positive reviews and discussion of legal scholarship. Having an article reviewed in JOTWELL will further the reach of Professor Makhlouf’s scholarship because JOTWELL posts are shared with legal scholars, lawyers, and policymakers throughout the world through JOTWELL’s website, RSS feeds, and its free email subscriptions.

Professor Medha D. Makhlouf is an Assistant Professor and Founding Director of the Medical-Legal Partnership Clinic at Penn State Dickinson Law. She has a joint appointment in the Department of Public Health Sciences at Penn State College of Medicine. Professor Makhlouf’s research and teaching interests lie at the intersection of health law, immigrants’ rights, and poverty law and policy. Her recent scholarship has been published or is forthcoming in the New York University Law Review, the Northwestern University Law Review Online, and the American Journal of Law and Medicine. Professor Makhlouf’s work is available at https://works.bepress.com/medha-makhlouf/.