Each year, 50 percent to 85 percent of community health center patients – or between 10 million and 17 million people – experience unmet legal needs, many of which negatively impact their health, according to a new study.
The study, by researchers at the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services, predicts this number is likely to increase given the changes in eligibility, plan enrollment, provider selection and service delivery embodied in the newly enacted health reform law.
Peter Shin, associate research professor in the Department of Health Policy and a lead study author, said that while the consequences of complex social problems and associated health disparities – such as substandard housing and environmental conditions – can be treated medically, their causes are social and are often more successfully remedied through legal channels.
"Medical legal partnerships are an effective way to address patterns of unmet need," said Shin. "They will become increasingly important as health reform unfolds."
According to the GWU analysis, medical-legal partnerships (MLPs) are available in more than 180 hospitals and health centers in 38 states. They address the legal needs affecting low-income patients, offering services that can improve health while simultaneously lowering the direct healthcare costs borne by health center patients and increasing health center revenue.
In MLPs, healthcare staff in hospitals, clinics and other sites identify legal problems, refer patients to an affiliated lawyer or legal services team and work alongside attorneys to mitigate or resolve problems that negatively affect patient health.
Medical-legal partnerships assist patients with securing healthcare and other public benefits, addressing housing issues and obtaining support for family and domestic crises.
Julio Bellber, president and CEO of the RCHN Community Health Foundation, a co-sponsor of the research, said community health centers have a long history of providing integrated and supportive services to their patients.
"Legal services offered through medical legal partnerships are an excellent example of programs that can benefit the individual patient, the center and the community," Belber said.
Community health centers could serve as an excellent entry point for low-income populations to legal services, he noted, with medical-legal partnerships serving as important catalysts to improve the overall health of their low income and vulnerable patients.