Program areas at NHeLP
See schedule o.litigation:partnering with state and local advocates across the country, attorneys for the National Health Law Program represented low-income individuals and families in litigation to enforce provisions of the medicaid act and other federal and state Health and civil rights laws.for example, in 2023, the organization brought litigation to prevent states from unlawfully dropping people from the medicaid rolls as they redetermine medicaid eligibility now that the covid emergency has officially ended. We also continued litigation to ensure transparency and accountability, due process, and access to services, including several cases to ensure that medically fragile children receive the services that are guaranteed them under medicaid's early and periodic screening, diagnostic and treatment provisions and cases to enforce the anti-discrimination provisions of the affordable care act.
See schedule o.california policy:in 2023, the National Health Law Program engaged in significant efforts to help develop and implement improvements to California's publicly funded Health care system. Some of the key Health care expansion efforts included: expanding access to premium assistance for marketplace insurance regardless of immigration status, implementing the expansion of medi-cal coverage and access to services among justice-involved populations in California; including community Health workers, doula benefits, behavioral Health services, services for foster youth, and many others, as medi-cal benefits; continuing ongoing efforts to expand access to sexual and reproductive Health care, including doula and contraceptive services; and implementing changes to medi-cal through the California advancing and innovating medi-cal (calaim) initiative.
See schedule o.national policy:the National Health Law Program's Health policy work advocates for protection and expansion of Health and civil rights of low-income individuals and families and underserved communities. The National Health Law Program's Health policy efforts in 2023 included but were not limited to the following: (1) advocating for legislation to close the coverage gap and increase funding for home and community based services; (2) working to prevent damage caused by the end of the public Health emergency, through advocacy at the federal level and support to advocates at the state level; (3) providing legal and policy support to National and state based coalitions working to protect, and where possible, expand access to Health care for low-income individuals, families and underserved communities; (4) providing legal support and problem-solving expertise to policymakers, advocates, and providers as legal issues arise at the administrative (regulatory) and state implementation levels; (5) providing legal support to policymakers to consider new models for providing Health care to all.during 2023 the National Health Law Program again increased itssubstantial efforts to counter Health care disparities and defend civil rights laws, including by advocating for strong regulations to enforce section 1557, the anti-discrimination provision of the affordable care act.in 2023, National Health Law Program staff provided state and federal Health care advocates legal assistance for myriad policy and legal concerns of low-income individuals and families. Staff members were also involved in and/or featured in scores of conferences and training events. Staff also produced numerous fact sheets, issue briefs, q&a's, and additional resources that were shared via listservs, email, social media platforms, press outreach, and other means. Much of this work product was also posted on the organization's website.
The National Health Law Program engaged in a number of targeted projects to support our primary goals.