LegalHealth
Complementing health care with legal care.
Our pioneering LegalHealth program improves health outcomes by addressing corresponding legal needs, removing legal barriers to better health for patients with limited financial resources. We work alongside medical professionals at 36 New York hospitals and medical facilities, including NYC Health + Hospitals, Mount Sinai Medical Center, Montefiore Medical Center, CancerCare, and many more.
Social determinants of health—the non-medical circumstances (i.e. housing, income, food security, immigration status, etc.) that directly affect one’s health—limit access to and quality of medical care. This reality makes LegalHealth not only pioneering, but necessary.
7,000
clients served through the 34 hospitals and healthcare facilities in which NYLAG attorneys are embedded throughout New York City
Services
Our LegalHealth attorneys support patients’ legal needs, so that patients can focus on improving their health. Here are some ways we help:
- Securing government benefits, including Medicaid
- Addressing housing problems
- Handling immigration concerns
- Assisting veterans with disability claims and discharge upgrades
- Planning ahead (e.g. wills, health care proxies, powers of attorney, and guardianship)
- Solving insurance disputes (e.g. denials of medical claims, prescription coverage, denial or disputes involving short- or long-term disability benefits)
Are you a doctor or medical provider? We offer information, training, and more to help health care providers understand their roles in addressing patients’ non-medical needs. Visit legalhealth.org to learn more.
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The Latest on LegalHealth
Norwood News: NYC Health + Hospitals Expands Legal Services for Patients
New York City Health + Hospitals announced the expansion of its medical-legal partnership with NYLAG’s LegalHealth division to address a variety of patients’ health-harming legal needs. Randye Retkin, LegalHealth Unit Director, shared with Norwood News the importance of this partnership in providing legal services in our public hospitals.
Testimony: The Experiences of Black Migrants in New York City
Monica Tulchinsky, Senior Staff Attorney in the LegalHealth division of NYLAG, testified in favor of Introduction 0085-2024A, a bill to require the City to develop and issue an annual health survey of newly arrived immigrants and asylum seekers.
NYLAG’s LegalHealth Partners with Mount Sinai for a Clinic to Help Breast Cancer Patients in Need of Legal Services
NYLAG’s LegalHealth Division is partnering with the Mount Sinai Medical Legal Partnership to launch a clinic to help breast cancer patients navigate legal issues that arise due to their diagnoses.
