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Government Control of Public Health

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Of the federal, state, and local governments, which has the greater power in public health? Why? Cite specific examples. Please include references from peer reviewed sources.

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The following posting discusses the power the federal, state and local governments have in public health.

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Of the federal, state, and local governments, which has the greater power in public health? Why? Cite specific examples. Please include reference from peer reviewed sources
Determining whether state or federal law takes precedence in a given situation was a central debate among the drafters of the U.S. Constitution, and it continues to be a critical legal issue. Some powers are reserved to the states, in other areas the Congress can overrule state law, and in some areas neither the states nor the Congress may freely make law. The Constitution determines which sovereign, if any, may make laws on a topic. The problem is that the Constitution is a general document, drafted over 200 years ago. Fortunately, the Constitution created the U.S. Supreme Court as a referee between the Congress and the states. Shortly after its creation, the Supreme Court reserved to itself the right to determine the meaning of the Constitution. It is through this power of interpretation that the Court can declare that a law is unconstitutional?that is, that it violates the protections that are part of the Constitution. In some areas this sharing of power can result in a health care practitioner facing both state and federal sanctions for a given activity.
For example, the federal law criminalizes kickbacks to affect the referral of Medicare patients. Some states also criminalize these same violations. A health care practitioner who paid such kickbacks could be prosecuted by both the federal and state governments for the same transactions. Health law issues usually involve the federal power to regulate interstate commerce, and the important shared power is the police power to protect the public health and safety. ...

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