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Health Law: Searching US Federal Statutes and Regulations

Used to help students in the Healthcare Law seminar

Select Federal Statutes

Federal Statutes:

The majority of federal health care legislation can be found in the following sections of the U.S. Code:

The following electronic databases provide access to the U.S. Code: 

Free Electronic Access:

  • GovInfo – This resource also provides access to the Congressional Records and Reports. This is a PDF electronic code (certified by Superintendent of Documents) provided by the Office of the Law Revision Counsel of the U.S. House of Representatives; efforts have been made for accuracy, but website cautions that if you are using the code for legal research, you should verify results against the printed version of the code provided by the GPO.
  • Legal Information Institute - LII is operated by an editorial group at Cornell Law School. This resource provides access to primary and secondary law, including the U.S. Code. 

Access via Library Databases:

  • Lexis  - Search for health law statutes within the “Healthcare Law” Practice Page. Note that access is restricted to UNH Law Students & Faculty.
  • Westlaw - Provides topical searching capabilities - choose “Health Law.” Note that access is restricted to UNH Law Students & Faculty.
  • Bloomberg Law - The “Health” Practice Center has a section dedicated to “Key Laws and Regulations,” which links to several of the major health-related laws. You can also search generally in the US Code via the “Legislative & Regulatory” tab. Note that access is restricted to UNH Law Students & Faculty.

 

 

Accessing Federal Regulations

Federal Regulations:

The majority of federal health care regulations can be found in the following chapters of the Code of Federal Regulations:

The following resources provide access to federal regulations and administrative decisions:

Free Electronic Access:

  • GovInfo: GovInfo provides access to a PDF version of the Code of Federal Regulations and the Federal Register. The CFR coverage currently runs from 1996-present, and the Federal Register coverage is from 1936-present. 
  • Legal Information Institute - LII is operated by an editorial group at Cornell Law School. This resource provides access to primary and secondary law, including the U.S. Code. 
  • eCFR - The eCFR is not an official legal edition of the CFR however, it does allow a user to search for specific terms and subscribe to changes in the regulations.

Access via Library Databases:

  • HeinOnline: (Password Required) HeinOnline provides PDF versions of both the CFR and the Federal Register. The availability of these resources via HeinOnline is more extensive, including coverage from 1936-present. Note that access is limited to the UNH Law Community.
    • In addition, HeinOnline also provides access to its U.S. Federal Agency Documents, Decisions, and Appeals library. This library is a “complete collection of the official case law” of many U.S. federal agencies, including the Department of Health & Human Services.
  • Lexis: (Password Required) The Healthcare Law Practice Center enables you to search in the following areas. Note that access is restricted to UNH Law Students & Faculty.
  • Westlaw: (Password Required) Westlaw's “Regulations” search function allows you to filter by “Health Law” and provides methods for searching both state and federal regulations. Note that access is restricted to UNH Law Students & Faculty.

New Hampshire Regulations

Take a look at this guide on researching New Hampshire Administrative Law for all of the facts on researching rules, regulations and decisions from NH Administrative Agencies effectively.

New Hampshire Statutes - in addition to Lexis,Westlaw and Bloomberg

The New Hampshire General Court maintains an excellent digital database of all current RSAs, which can be found here:

http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/rsa/html/indexes/default.html

This database is updated at the conclusion of each legislative session and incorporates all changes completed by that legislative session. This means it does not track the most recent changes, unlike WestLaw or Lexis. It is therefore not a good resource for finding the most up-to-date legislation, and it should not be relied upon for any law beyond the "Most Recently Updated" date at the top of the page.

If you are unsure as to where to start, the statutes can be searched by keyword here:

http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/rsa/html/indexes/search.html

Additionally, the complete index is available here:

http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/rsa/html/nhtoc.htm

Lastly, the New Hampshire General Court's free legal research page links to most statutory resources, and can be accessed here:

New Hampshire Law Library Online