From Patients to Policy

The National Center works to ensure the broadest possible impact of MLP by (1) leading national legislative strategies; (2) working with professional organizations to build leadership in law and medicine and incorporate MLP into the broader work of these professions; and (3) developing capacity in local medical-legal partnerships to influence policy decisions related to vulnerable populations and their access to basic needs in their communities.

Legislative Efforts

MLP for Health Act

Recently, there has been exciting legislative activity around a potential federal demonstration project for medical-legal partnerships.  A demonstration project would support and expand the integration of MLPs into healthcare settings and collect data on the effectiveness of the MLP model from both legal and healthcare perspectives, including measuring cost-effectiveness and patient health outcomes.  There is strong interest in both the House and Senate for the MLP for Health Act, which lays the groundwork for an MLP federal demonstration project. The Act is now being revised and finalized.

MLP Capitol Hill Day

On March 24, 2010, the National Center organized the first MLP Capitol Hill Day.  Medical-legal partnership teams representing 17 states met with nearly 70 members of Congress and staff on Capitol Hill to educate them about MLP and its positive impact on vulnerable populations across the country.

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Professional Impact

In order to achieve the biggest impact in the health and well-being of individuals and families, MLPs aim to simultaneously transform healthcare for vulnerable populations and the service delivery model of legal aid.  The National Center works with professional organizations to build leadership in law and medicine and incorporate MLP into the broader work of these professions.  Click here to read more about the professional impact of MLP.

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Building Policy Capacity in Individual MLPs

Success in the policy domain depends on the unique, combined voice of medical and legal partners and the compelling clinical experiences of the medical partner making the health case for increased access to resources to meet basic needs for low-income families at the federal, state and local level.

The National Center seeks to ensure that individual medical-legal partnerships are better equipped to adapt to their local political and social landscape, and better positioned to detect policy problems from the frontlines and subsequently innovate solutions.  Through the provision of technical assistance and resources as well as the coordination of cross-site policy initiatives, NCMLP helps prepare sites to make a policy impact in their local communities.

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