Advancing Health Equity Through Law
By Bailey Coghlan (H’25)
On Tuesday, March 11, health equity policy scholar Katie Keith, J.D., MPH, joined Georgetown University students for a discussion on health equity and law as a part of the Conversations in Global Health: Global to Local course.
The dialogue touched on Keith’s calling to public service through her current legal engagements domestically and her international work early on in her career with the Peace Corps. Drawn back stateside during the Obama administration, Keith spoke about her extended dive into the Affordable Care Act (ACA) as a means of advancing health equity, particularly among gender minorities and the LGBTQ+ community. As a lawyer, the massive amount of litigation generated in response to the ACA and its implementation provided Keith with many opportunities for advocacy, as well as opportunities to expand her knowledge of how litigation works.
Keith remarked that her legal training was her way of “joining the fight,” and her strong writing and political skills continue to be key tools in advancing policy goals and reforming the law. Additionally, she pointed to her undergraduate background in the basic sciences as likewise fundamental to this advocacy, helping her to make connections and understand complex systems.
The conversation then turned to key health equity issues in current legal discourse. Students asked Keith about present challenges across the country like transgender health care and legal avenues to prevent bans on therapies. This inspired broader reflection on how to balance protecting individual rights under significant economic and political pressure.
In light of these constraints, Keith offered that she relies on a baseline of fundamental protections as her north star in her legal advocacy. However, she recognized that these political circumstances can be a boon to advocacy efforts. Because gender health policy issues tend to generate a significant amount of stakeholder engagement, Keith is able to bring these perspectives and momentum into the legal discourse via amicus briefs, public comment, and benefit outreach. She also added that the continual feedback loop of the public and the law enriches the discourse and strengthens the cases advocates make.
Finally, Keith closed out the conversation by encouraging students to lean into new and different experiences which may present themselves as they set out on their careers, reminding them that sometimes the most rewarding or informative opportunities may be the ones they least expect.
Bailey Coghlan (H’25) is an undergraduate student at Georgetown University majoring health care management and policy. She is a student in the Conversations in Health: Global to Local class.