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I am excited to report that LegalHealth is now part of the faculty at the innovative Harold P. Freeman Patient Navigation Training Institute at the Ralph Lauren Center for Cancer Care and Prevention.
Dr. Freeman, founder and president of the Ralph Lauren Center in Harlem and a renowned oncologist, created the Institute with a grant from the Amgen Foundation to reduce disparities in access to diagnosis and treatment of cancer, particularly among poor and uninsured people. At the Ralph Lauren Center, everyone who walks in is assigned a patient navigator to be a personal guide, advocate and problem-solver. Dr. Freeman hopes to replicate this model nationwide.
Patient navigators from around the country come to the Institute to learn how to guide, advocate for and resolve problems of underserved patients, as do healthcare administrators developing patient navigator programs.
LegalHealth assists in training these patient navigators and is an integral part of the Institute’s curriculum. We focus particularly on training cancer specialists about the legal issues affecting their patients, which is very similar to the training we provide our hospital partners for cancer and other chronic illnesses. No cancer patient should be forced to spend more time fighting their way through the healthcare system or the government benefits bureaucracy than fighting the disease, yet we see this happen all the time. LegalHealth has always worked as a kind of patient navigator for nonmedical problems, and we are proud to work with Dr. Freeman on this new program.
I am also pleased to announce that LegalHealth’s Debra Wolf will be co-teaching New York University School of Law’s Medical-Legal Advocacy Clinic, which will base its fieldwork at LegalHealth in the academic year starting in September.
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 Randye Retkin,
Director
The clinic uses a multidisciplinary and holistic approach to provide legal advocacy in a medical setting. Working with LegalHealth will give the NYU Law students hands-on experience solving patients’ problems. Many issues that affect health have legal remedies, such as the incorrect denial of medical benefits or the impact of mold-infested housing on asthma patients.
Under the supervision of NYU Law Professor Paula Galowitz and LegalHealth attorney Debra Wolf, the students will work at two of LegalHealth’s free, onsite hospital clinics to advise and assist low-income people with the nonmedical issues that may adversely affect their health. One of the clinics will be Ms. Wolf’s regular weekly clinic at Mt. Sinai; the second will be a new site at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Community Services for Children and Families Clinic, a foster care prevention program.
The students will also participate in LegalHealth programs that train hospital staff to identify and refer patients’ nonmedical problems, and to incorporate patient advocacy into medical practice.
We are delighted to work with NYU Law School and look forward to a long and productive collaboration.
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September 22 - 24, 2008
New York State Bar Association
Legal Assistance Partnership Conference
"Justice in Challenging Time"
Albany, New York
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Noisy neighbors can be annoying, but for Juan, it was intolerable. Juan suffers from extreme anxiety and depression and the incessant noise from his downstairs neighbor prevented Juan from eating or sleeping properly. Numerous calls to the police and landlord did not stop the problem. There were brief respites from the noise after repeated complaints to the building’s management company – but the loud music would start again and this situation lasted for over a year. Evicting the neighbor would have required Juan to provide evidence
and testimony – a long and protracted ordeal that would only exacerbate his mental condition. When his therapist determined that this level of stress would worsen Juan’s condition, he referred him to LegalHealth.
LegalHealth negotiated with the management company for a reasonable accommodation to relocate Juan to a similar apartment and at the same rate that Juan was currently paying. His life is back in order and his doctor has reduced the medication that Juan was taking. In addition, Juan’s eating and sleeping habits have normalized and he’s found peace and contentment in his new home.
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Medicaid’s new eligibility levels went into effect April 1, 2008 and have increased by an average of 65%. Income levels still vary by recipient category and household size, but the resources levels have been changed considerably. For example, a single individual may now have $13,050 in resources; disabled, blind or age 65-plus individuals and families may now have $19,200 in resources and still qualify for Medicaid. Individuals who were on a limited income and who had to spend down their savings to qualify for Medicaid can now retain their savings during the course of an illness
rather than having to wait for care while they deplete their savings. The income and resources of legally responsible relatives in the household will also be counted. Possessions such as a primary home, automobile and personal property will not affect their eligibility. To see the new eligibility chart
click here
Please note there are more intricate rules for applicants who need Medicaid for Nursing Home care and or Home Attendant care in their own homes. | |
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