Abstract
This chapter provides an overview of the medical-legal partnership (MLP) service delivery model, which integrates legal services into healthcare settings as a means of addressing the legal aspects of patients’ social determinants of health. It introduces the underlying concepts that drive MLPs, including the five “I-HELP” legal needs categories, and contextualizes them in the world of cancer care. The chapter then provides a basic introduction to the cancer-specific legal needs of low-income cancer patients for each of the five categories: income, housing, education and employment, legal status, and personal and familial stability. Each legal “snapshot” discusses the legal principles of each need, how those principles apply to cancer patients, and how an interdisciplinary MLP model can use those principles to address the needs of its patients. The discussion is intended to educate cancer providers on the MLP model as well as provide practical advocacy tips. It concludes with two case vignettes that demonstrate how MLP intervention can improve patient’s overall well-being and quality of life.
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Abbreviations
- ACA:
-
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
- ACP:
-
Advance care planning
- ADA:
-
Americans with Disabilities Act
- ALJ:
-
Administrative law judge
- BCCPTA:
-
Breast and Cervical Cancer Prevention and Treatment Act
- CAL:
-
Compassionate allowance
- CHIP:
-
Child health insurance program
- FDCPA:
-
Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
- FHA:
-
Fair Housing Act
- FMLA:
-
Family Medical Leave Act
- FPL:
-
Federal poverty level
- HCPOA:
-
Healthcare power of attorney
- IEP:
-
Initial enrollment period
- I-HELP:
-
Income, housing and utilities, education and employment, legal status, personal and familial stability
- LPR:
-
Legal permanent resident
- MA:
-
Medicare advantage
- MAGI:
-
Modified adjusted gross income
- MLP:
-
Medical-legal partnership
- National Center:
-
National Center for Medical-Legal Partnerships
- OOP:
-
Out-of-pocket expenses
- POA:
-
Financial power of attorney
- PRUCOL:
-
Permanent residence under color of law
- PRWORA:
-
Personal responsibility and work opportunity reconciliation action
- SDH:
-
Social determinants of health
- SGA:
-
Substantial gainful activity
- SSA:
-
Social security administration
- SSDI:
-
Social security disability
- SSI:
-
Supplemental security income
- TANF:
-
Temporary assistance for needy families
- TERI:
-
Terminal illness cases
- TWP:
-
Trial work period
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Bednar, T., Antoniadis, D. (2018). Medical-Legal Partnerships in Cancer Care. In: Hopewood, P., Milroy, M. (eds) Quality Cancer Care . Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-78649-0_11
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