Healthcare Access
While New York has made great strides in health care access, many remain uninsured or underinsured, causing poor health outcomes and financial strain. We can change this.
The health care system can be incredibly complex, especially for people experiencing poverty.
Qualified individuals may be mistakenly denied Medicaid. Those who have Medicaid may need advocacy to get the care they are entitled to. Medicare beneficiaries are overwhelmed by high out-of-pocket costs, and are often shocked to learn that Medicare does not cover long-term care—and that they must apply for Medicaid to access home care services. Seniors and people with disabilities are forced into nursing homes when they cannot access Medicaid home care.
When immigration status prevents people from accessing the care they need, they are forced to make impossible choices that put their health and the health of loved ones at risk. Without a qualified legal advocate, low-income families are not getting the care they desperately need.
$2.13M
won in ongoing yearly medical expenses in 2020
Services
We have lawyers and legal advocates who are experts in navigating the complex Medicaid and Medicare systems, winning health and long-term care benefits and services that can improve health outcomes and save lives. Here are some ways our lawyers can help:
- Helping families, seniors, people with disabilities, and immigrants obtain vital Medicaid and
Medicare health insurance benefits, and representing them when services are wrongly denied - Preparing health care proxies, so that a loved one can make health care decisions for a person if
they lose mental capacity - Educating legal, social services, and health care professionals on the complex rules for Medicaid,
Medicare, and Medicaid home care services, through live trainings and at NYHealthAccess.org - Increasing health care access by offering legal services in communities—in hospitals and medical
facilities, in community-based organizations, in our Mobile Legal Help Center, in court, and in
storefront offices
Need free legal services or financial counseling?
Help us provide free legal help to improve access to health care.
Public News Service: NY Expands Access to Medicare Savings Programs
NYLAG’s Valerie Bogart spoke to Public News Service about Medicare Savings Programs expansions for older adults in New York, advocating for immigrants to receive healthcare coverage as well.
Advocates fear the New York Independent Assessor Medicaid program will lead to denials, delays
NYLAG’s Rebecca Wallach spoke with Crain’s Health Pulse about the New York Independent Assessor Medicaid Program and the problems that could lead to confusion, delays and denials for Medicaid applicants.
Mount Sinai and Healthfirst launch program to help patients know when they need an attorney.
“Legal issues should never stand in the way of health.” Developed in collaboration with NYLAG, Mount Sinai launched a medical-legal program to proactively identify and provide free civil legal services to patients in underserved communities who have unaddressed legal needs, to improve their health outcomes.
