1.This Act may be cited as the
Medical-Legal Partnership for Health
Act
.
2.
(a)Congress finds the following:
(1)Numerous studies
and reports, including the annual National Healthcare Disparities Report and
Unequal Treatment, the 2002 Institute of Medicine Report, document the
extensiveness to which vulnerable populations suffer from health disparities
across the country.
(2)These studies have
found that, on average, racial and ethnic minorities and low-income populations
are disproportionately afflicted with chronic and acute conditions such as
asthma, cancer, diabetes, and hypertension and suffer worse health outcomes,
worse health status, and higher mortality rates.
(3)Several recent
studies also show that health and healthcare quality are a function of not only
access to healthcare, but also the social determinants of health, including the
environment, the physical structure of communities, socio-economic status,
nutrition, educational attainment, employment, race, ethnicity, geography, and
language preference, that directly and indirectly affect the health,
healthcare, and wellness of individuals and communities.
(4)Formally
integrating medical and legal professionals in the health setting can more
effectively address the health needs of vulnerable populations and ultimately
reduce health disparities.
(5)All over the
United States, healthcare providers who take care of low-income individuals and
families are partnering with legal professionals to assist them in providing
better quality of healthcare.
(6)Medical-legal
partnerships integrate lawyers in a health setting to help patients navigate
the complex government, legal, and service systems in addressing social
determinants of health, such as income supports for food insecure families and
mold removal from the home of asthmatics.
(b)The purposes of this Act are to—
(1)support and
advance opportunity for medical-legal partnerships to be more fully integrated
in healthcare settings nationwide;
(2)to improve the
quality of care for vulnerable populations by reducing health disparities among
health disparities populations and addressing the social determinants of
health; and
(3)identify and
develop cost-effective strategies that will improve patient outcomes and
realize savings for healthcare systems.
3.Medical-legal
partnerships
(a)The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall
establish a nationwide demonstration project consisting of—
(1)awarding grants
to, and entering into contracts with, medical-legal partnerships to assist
patients and their families to navigate programs and activities; and
(2)evaluating the
effectiveness of such partnerships.
(b)The Secretary may,
directly or through grants or contracts, provide technical assistance to
grantees under subsection (a)(1) to support the establishment and
sustainability of medical-legal partnerships. Not to exceed 5 percent of the
amount appropriated to carry out this section in a fiscal year may be used for
purposes of this subsection.
(c)
(1)Amounts received as a grant or pursuant to a contract under
this section shall be used to assist patients and their families to navigate
health-related programs and activities for purposes of achieving one or more of
the following goals:
(A)Enhancing access
to healthcare services.
(B)Improving health
outcomes for low-income individuals, as defined in subsection (g).
(C)Reducing health
disparities among health disparities populations.
(D)Enhancing wellness
and prevention of chronic conditions and other health problems.
(E)Reducing cost of
care to the healthcare system.
(F)Addressing the
social determinants of health.
(G)Addressing
situational contributing factors.
(2)Authorization of
appropriationsThere are
authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section such sums as may be
necessary, but not to exceed $10,000,000, for each of the fiscal years 2012
through 2016.
(3)For each fiscal year, the Secretary may not award a
grant or contract under this section to an entity unless the entity agrees to
make available non-Federal contributions (which may include in-kind
contributions) toward the costs of a grant or contract awarded under this
section in an amount that is not less than $1 for each $10 of Federal funds
provided under the grant or contract.
(4)Of the amounts appropriated pursuant to
paragraph (2) for a fiscal year, the Secretary may obligate not more than 5
percent for the administrative expenses of the Secretary in carrying out this
section.
(d)To be eligible to
receive a grant or contract under this section, an entity shall—
(1)be an organization experienced in bridging
the medical and legal professions on behalf of vulnerable populations
nationally; and
(2)submit to the
Secretary an application at such time, in such manner, and containing such
information as the Secretary may require, including information demonstrating
that the applicant has experience in bridging the medical and legal professions
or a strategy or plan for cultivating and building medical-legal
partnerships.
(e)No
funds under this section may be used—
(1)for any medical
malpractice action or proceeding;
(2)to provide any
support to an alien who is not—
(A)a qualified alien
(as defined in section 431 of the Immigration and Nationality Act);
(B)a nonimmigrant
under the Immigration and Nationality Act; or
(C)an alien who is
paroled into the United States under section 212(d)(5) of such Act for less
than one year;
(3)to provide legal
assistance with respect to any proceeding or litigation which seeks to procure
an abortion or to compel any individual or institution to perform an abortion,
or assist in the performance of an abortion; or
(4)to initiate or
participate in a class action lawsuit.
(f)
(1)Final report by
secretaryNot later than 6 months after the date of the
completion of the demonstration program under this section, the Secretary shall
conduct a study of the results of the program and submit to the Congress a
report on such results that includes the following:
(A)An evaluation of
the program outcomes, including—
(i)a
description of the extent to which medical-legal partnerships funded through
this section achieved the goals described in subsection (b);
(ii)quantitative and
qualitative analysis of baseline and benchmark measures; and
(iii)aggregate
information about the individuals served and program activities.
(B)Recommendations on
whether the programs funded under this section could be used to improve patient
outcomes in other public health areas.
(2)Interim reports
by secretaryThe Secretary may provide interim reports to the
Congress on the demonstration program under this section at such intervals as
the Secretary determines to be appropriate.
(3)The Secretary may require each recipient of a grant
under this section to submit interim and final reports on the programs carried
out by such recipient with such grant.
(g)In
this section:
(1)The term
health disparities populations has the meaning given such term in
section 485E(d) of the Public Health Service Act.
(2)The term
low-income individuals refers to the population of individuals and
families who earn up to 200 percent of the Federal poverty level.
(3)The term
medical-legal partnership means an entity—
(A)that is a
partnership between—
(i)a
community health center, public hospital, children’s hospital, or other
provider of healthcare services to a significant number of low-income
beneficiaries; and
(ii)one
or more legal professionals; and
(B)whose primary
mission is to assist patients and their families navigate health-related
programs, activities, and services through the provision of relevant civil
legal assistance on-site in the healthcare setting involved, in conjunction
with regular training for healthcare staff and providers regarding the
connections between legal interventions, social determinants, and health of
low-income individuals.
(4)The term
Secretary means the Secretary of Health and Human Services.