It is likely news to many people, but lawyers can improve improve patients’ health. Kaiser Health News reports on “medical-legal partnerships,” which have been growing throughout the country: Through these partnerships, states, hospitals and health clinics enlist lawyers to assist patients in order to improve their health.
Who pays for these lawyers? Medical-legal partnerships are funded in different ways. In some cases, foundations pay for the legal services. But, that funding tends to be temporary. A handful of states pay for this assistance through their Medicaid budgets. Sometimes, lawyers offer their services pro bono.
North Carolina, for example, relies on a federal waiver to provide more legal aid to Medicaid patients. This aid helps to improve social determinants of health, like housing, nutrition, transportation and more.
And, all states have some discretion to use some Medicaid funds for non-clinical services that can lead to better health outcomes. The Veterans Administration also offers legal services to its patient population.
What types of legal help do attorneys offer? Lawyers participating in medical-legal partnerships help patients with a wide range of legal issues, such as guardianship, immigration and eviction issues or unemployment and Social Security Disability Insurance claims. Lawyers also might help get a landlord to remove mold from an apartment that is causing a child to have asthma.
In short, attorneys can help ease stress for patients and their families and, in the process, promote better health.
There are some 450 medical-legal partnerships across the country.
