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.
7,900
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.
Need free legal services or financial counseling?
Help us provide free legal help in a health care setting.
The Latest on LegalHealth
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.
NYLAG’s LegalHealth Division Partners with Mount Sinai to Launch a Medical-Legal Program to Address Health-Harming Legal Needs Among Patients
“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.
Testimony: Aging Vets Need Access to Legal Services During COVID Digital Divide
NYLAG’s Ryan Foley and Ruth Stein press for increased access to free legal services to address the digital divide older Veterans experience when seeking help with complex, intersecting legal issues affecting their health.
