Professor Medha D. Makhlouf presents at Health Affairs Insider event

CARLISLE, Pa.—On October 15, 2025, Professor Medha D. Makhlouf joined a panel of nationally recognized experts for a Health Affairs Insider event titled “Immigration Policies and Their Impact on Health Care.” The panel discussed how immigration policy shapes access, financing, and health care use for immigrant communities and mixed-status families.

Professor Makhlouf’s comments highlighted the importance of recognizing law as a social determinant of immigrant health. The panel touched on several themes relating to Professor Makhlouf's expertise at the intersection of health law and immigration law, such as the role of nativism in health policy, implications of federalism for access to health care, and gaps in the health care safety net that disproportionately harm immigrants.

Not only has Professor Makhlouf published articles on these topics, but she also encounters them through her work in the Medical-Legal Partnership Clinic, which represents individuals who face barriers to accessing Medicaid and other health-promoting public benefits.

Health Affairs Insider is a membership program for Health Affairs, the leading peer-reviewed journal on health, health care, and policy. Insider hosts exclusive events on noteworthy and emerging topics with perspectives from experienced health policy experts. These events aim to connect recent policy trends with relevant peer-reviewed research.

Professor Medha D. Makhlouf is the Elsie de R. and Samuel P. Orlando Distinguished 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 in the Boston University Law Review, New York University Law Review, and the Yale Journal of Health Policy, Law & Ethics. Professor Makhlouf is currently writing a book, tentatively titled Health Justice for Migrants, which is under contract with Cambridge University Press.