Thought Leaders in Health Law® for Five Decades and Counting

When Epstein Becker Green was founded 50 years ago, the U.S. health care and life sciences industries were just beginning to tackle solutions to this core issue: How can the U.S. manage health care spending while providing access to high-quality health care products and services?

Decades:

1970s

1980s

1990s

2000s

2010+

Thought Leaders in Health Law® for Five Decades and Counting

When Epstein Becker Green was founded 50 years ago, the U.S. health care and life sciences industries were just beginning to tackle solutions to the core issue: How can the U.S. manage health care spending while providing access to high-quality health care products and services?

Jump to Decade

The Beginning

The Medicare and Medicaid programs were signed into law in 1965, less than 10 years before Epstein Becker Green opened its doors. The Medicare and Medicaid Act fundamentally changed the relationship between the public and private sectors, and connected Americans, especially the elderly and indigent populations, to health care services in an entirely new way.

Such legislation set the stage for Epstein Becker Green's role in advising stakeholders and key players within the health care and life sciences space. Throughout our history, our attorneys have stood shoulder to shoulder with our clients as each new wave of legislation has shifted compliance requirements, the delivery of care, product development, technological innovation, and business operations strategy.

The 1970s

If the sixties identified the core issue in the U.S. health care system, the seventies saw the government taking an active role to address it and further expand access for all Americans. The public-private system became more intertwined, and a new hybrid model emerged: a blend of government funding and private-sector cost control and management. In 1973, Epstein Becker Green planted its roots, and the firm was quick to assume a critical role in the health care sphere.

1973

Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) Act

1974

Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA)

1977

Federal Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS) Amended to Make AKS Violations a Felony

The 1980s

Government intervention expanded in the health care industry in the eighties while the country's health spending rapidly increased. Suddenly, as health care delivery increased and interest grew, the nation was confronted with dramatically rising costs.

1981

Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981 (OBRA '81)

1983

Diagnostic Related Groups (DRGs)

1983

Orphan Drug Act (ODA)

1984

Hatch-Waxman Act

1986

False Claims Amendments Act of 1986

1986

Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA)

1986

Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA)

1987

Medicare and Medicaid Patient and Program Protection Act

1988

Prescription Drug Marketing Act (PDMA)

1989

Physician Self-Referral Law

The 1990s

The nineties largely followed the economic trends of the seventies and eighties, with exponentially increasing health care costs becoming the nation's foremost issue. However, the decade also marked a significant investment in the life sciences industry for both the country and the firm—an investment that we are still focused on today.

1990

National Committee on Quality Assurance (NCQA)

1990

Utilization Review Accreditation Commission (URAC)

1990

Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 (OBRA '90) & Medicaid Drug Rebate Program (MDRP)

1991

Federal Policy for the Protection of Human Subjects

1992

Veterans Health Care Act & 340B Drug Pricing Program

1992

Medical Device Amendments of 1992

1992

Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA)

1996

Federal Health Care Fraud Statute (18 U.S.C. § 1347)

1996

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)

1996

Mental Health Parity Act

1997

The FDA Modernization Act of 1997

1997

Balanced Budget Act (BBA)

The 2000s

The turn of the millennia begged the question: Is the employer-based health care insurance system one that can sustain itself? As health care costs steadily rose and self-funded plans were exposed to shifts in federal funding, the conversation around value-based purchasing gained traction.

2003

Medicare Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act (MMA)

2006

HCA's Leveraged Buyout (LBO)

2008

Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA)

2009

American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA)

2009

Biologics Price Competition and Innovation (BPCI) Act

2010 to Now

As the Medicare and Medicaid Act of the sixties had done so before, the passing of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in 2010 marked a fundamental shift in Americans' access to affordable health care. In response to rising health care costs and concerns about accessibility to vulnerable populations, the government took yet another step toward addressing the core issues of the U.S. health care system. Today, we still confront these questions, as new and unforeseen circumstances challenge the system.