Post-COVID U.S. Legal Reforms Promoting Public Health and Equity

Abstract

There is no clear silver lining to the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, arising from the crisis are substantial changes in laws and policies to improve public health responses and advance health equity. Some seismic legal shifts are already underway; others are in conceptual stages. We propose and explore ten major areas of legal and policy reforms precipitated by unprecedented responses and experiences underlying the COVID-19 pandemic. These include (1) constitutional assurances to abate health inequities; (2) extensive reconsideration of national and state emergency public health laws and policies; (3) development of emergency measures to counter-balance economic impacts; (4) tax laws and policies supporting wider provision of health services; (5) unification of data gathering, reporting, and sharing practices; (6) greater access to basic health care services; (7) enhanced reproductive health protections; (8) elimination of structural racial inequities impacting health outcomes; (9) law enforcement approaches promoting social justice; and (10) renewed acclimation of “health-in-all-policies.”

Keywords: COVID, legal, emergency, pandemic, public health, reform, constitution, equity, health outcomes, access, health services, social justice, HiAP, data, privacy, tax, spend, regulation, law, policy