The Affordable Care Acts Regulatory Drawbacks

The recent government shutdown has brought the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to the center of American politics once again. While the law was able to successfully expand coverage to millions of Americans, the law’s continued reliance on subsidies shows its inability to lower premiums due to structural healthcare issues. The temporary subsidy program in particular, which was first expanded during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021, was intended as short term relief and has now become essential for keeping premiums affordable for Americans. This overreliance on federal aid exposes a deeper structural weakness with the ACA, which is the law’s inability to sustain affordability without government intervention. As Congress debates whether to renew these subsidies, the question they must ask themselves is whether the ACA’s regulatory framework can ever function as a truly self-sustaining reform without significant subsidies. 

Sports Gambling in the Post-Murphy Landscape

Since the Supreme Court’s 2018 ruling in Murphy v. NCAA, which struck down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, the sports betting industry has expanded at an extraordinary rate. Sports wagering is now legal in 38 states and Washington, D.C. In 2024, licensed sportsbooks handled nearly $150 billion in bets and generated more than $14.2 billion in operator revenue. State and local governments collected roughly $2.9 billion in taxes, and the federal government received over $375 million through the federal excise tax. This expansion, however, has also produced a complicated and evolving set of regulatory and compliance challenges.

On Thin ICE: PBNDS Violations and the Collapse of Compliance in Immigration Detention Centers

Last month, 60,000 people were detained by ICE (United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement) – a new record for the United States. Once individuals are taken into custody during an ICE raid, a new set of high-risk regulatory and constitutional compliance issues emerge. ICE, and cooperating law enforcement agencies, are supposed to adhere to multiple statutory and internal standards that govern how detainees are identified, processed, housed, and given access to legal and medical protections. Compliance failures at this stage are some of the most frequent sources of civil-rights litigation, class actions, and federal court injunctions. The distance between what the standards require, and how detention facilities are actually operating right now, raises an urgent question: what does a regulatory regime mean when the agency tasked with enforcing it is the first to ignore it?

FTC Lawsuit Forces Changes to Ticketmaster

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has taken action against Ticketmaster and its parent company, LiveNation, for engaging in deceptive and unfair ticketing practices. These practices inflated ticket prices and enabled brokers to use bots to hoard tickets and mislead consumers through hidden fees. The FTC brought suit against Ticketmaster and it has resulted in changes including banning multiple accounts, shutting down a platform that helps brokers purchase multiple tickets at a time, and increasing pricing transparency.

CPD’s Consent Decree Compliance and its Challenges

Following the death of Laquan McDonald at the hands of Jason Van Dyke, the Chicago Police Department (CPD) underwent an investigation by the Department of Justice (DOJ), initiated by President Barack Obama. This investigation led to the determination that CPD engaged in a “pattern or practice” of unconstitutional policing. As a result, CPD agreed to federal enforcement of a consent decree in 2019. Since the implementation of the consent decree, CPD has been in compliance with only 23% of the consent decree’s mandates. Although this is an improvement from previous years, it has not been enough to foster community trust in CPD practices.

Wait, am I an Independent Contractor?

Work looks very different for everybody, with remote work, gig economy jobs, such as rideshare drivers or freelance writers, and independent contractors. It can be hard to answer the simple question of “What do you do for work?” Misclassification of your employment status, such as being classified as an independent contractor when you are really an employee, can be detrimental for people, as it can prevent access to benefits and protections. These protections include the right to overtime pay, anti-discrimination policies, and worker’s compensation. In 2020 it was found that 10-30% of employers misclassified their workers. The most misclassified jobs range from construction workers, housekeeping cleaners, and security guards. Typically workers with less formal education are at risk for misclassification. A key solution to the issue of misclassification of workers is education on both the part of the employer and the worker.

Work Related: AI Governance and Regulation in the Employment Law Context

Today, an explosion in Artificial Intelligence (AI) development is taking the U.S. and global economic systems by storm. Companies like Nvidia (the first company to reach an approximately 5 trillion valuation), Microsoft, Alphabet (Google), and Open AI (formerly a non-profit which still cites the common good as a core tenant of its charter) have kicked off what is widely understood to be an AI “Arms Race.” Investors- from venture capitalists to private equity behemoths- continue to pour billions of dollars into AI technology companies and associated ventures. As AI companies move from beta testing to widespread adoption and integration, debates on AI transparency, accountability, and regulation have risen to the forefront. As a result of this monumental shift and ongoing uncertainty, the necessity of properly understanding (and regulating) AI and automation technology is now more pressing than ever before. Further, the need for strong regulatory oversight, a broad regulatory consensus and clear guidance, a baseline code of ethics (at minimum), as well as strong federal and state regulation- has become one of the most important issues of our time.

Is Texas the Most Business Friendly State in America?

With its low tax burden on businesses, no state income tax, a large and diverse economy, and a strong work force, Texas has hosted an exceptionally business friendly environment for decades. The state is home to over 50 Fortune 500 companies (the most in the United States), has the 8th largest economy in the world and the second largest in the United States, and has one of the fastest growing populations. In recent years, Texas has been making its case as the most business friendly environment in the United States.

Beyond Weight Loss: How Ozempic Exposed Cracks in U.S. Drug Compliance

A viral weight-loss craze that promised to trim waistlines has become one of the most urgent compliance battles for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In early 2025, the FDA uncovered counterfeit Ozempic circulating through unauthorized distributors and compounding pharmacies, some containing unknown ingredients that put patients at serious risk. The discovery exposed the continued fragility of the nation’s pharmaceutical supply chain, even after years of reform under the Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA). As demand for GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy skyrockets, regulatory gaps in manufacturing, compounding, and distribution have created new avenues for fraud, forcing the FDA to tighten enforcement and redefine the rules of pharmaceutical oversight.

The EPA Reconsiders the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program

Amid a plethora of changes in the past eleven months, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed to virtually end the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program (GHGRP), one of their most significant tools for tracking industrial emissions. The GHGRP, 40 C.F.R. Part 98, requires industrial facilities and other major emission sources to track and report their greenhouse emissions to the EPA annually. However, under the new proposal, the reporting requirement would be halted for 46 of the 47 categories, allowing large sources across numerous industries to operate without any federal emissions reporting oversight. The potential end of the GHGRP presents numerous issues.