A medical-legal partnership for families of pediatric patients with neurodevelopmental disabilities can improve access to education resources and entitled benefits, and also result in financial cost savings to families and health care systems, according to a study published in the International Journal of Health, Wellness, and Society
The Health Law Partnership (HeLP), is an interprofessional collaboration among health care providers and lawyers to address health-harming legal issues for families of children with complex medical needs. In the Atlanta area, HeLP’s interprofessional team includes lawyers and law students through Atlanta Legal Aid and Georgia State University College of Law, and referring physicians and medical students associated with Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Emory University, and Morehouse Schools of Medicine.
Families referred to HeLP receive a legal check-up — the legal equivalent to a medical history — to assess existing legal problems and needs, as well as financial eligibility for government assistance programs (<200% of the Federal Poverty Level).
The researchers examined data from families of 651 children with neurodevelopmental disabilities (e.g., developmental delays, attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder, autism, prematurity), who had legal consultations from Jan. 1, 2006, to June 30, 2018.
Over the study period, 457 cases received extended legal services. Findings show that HeLP services improved access to education resources, and resulted in cost savings to families and the health care system by securing entitlement benefits.
The most common legal problems addressed by HeLP included education accommodations (25.1%), Supplemental Security Income (SSI) enrollment (21%), and family law issues (18.5 %). Legal services helped families obtain or retain benefits that exceeded $4.9 million over the study period. These included
- Medicaid, State Children’s Health Insurance Program and other health-related assistance with an average benefit value of $18,925 per case
- SSI and education cases with an average benefit value of $9,585 and $5,336, respectively, per case.
“Inter-professional practice among health care and legal providers can result in more timely access to resources to address legal and other social determinants of health that exacerbate the complex needs of children with neurodevelopmental disabilities and their families,” write the authors. “Additionally, by securing entitled benefits and resources for these families, there are short- and long-term cost savings to both families and health systems.”
Study authors include Salathiel Kendrick Allwood, M.D., and Robert Pettignano, M.D., both from Emory University, and Susan McLaren from the Georgia Health Policy Center.
Click here to read the study.