Staff Attorney, Access to Care and Coverage Practice

Job Description

Job Description

Staff Attorney, FRC's and MLPI Access to Care and Coverage Practice

An exciting opportunity to join the fight for health care access!

About Health Law Advocates (HLA)

Health Law Advocates (HLA) is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) public interest law firm committed to ensuring universal access to quality health care in Massachusetts. HLA provides pro bono legal services to Massachusetts residents with low incomes who face barriers to accessing health care coverage and services. HLA is committed to ensuring universal access to quality health care in Massachusetts, particularly for those who are most at risk due to such factors as race, gender, disability, age, or geographic location. HLA also engages in public policy advocacy, systemic litigation, and educational programming to promote access to care for all.

 

HLA furthers its mission of universal access to quality health care via three main areas of work:

• Representing Health Care Consumers. HLA provides high quality, free legal assistance to income eligible Massachusetts residents experiencing difficulties with accessing or paying for health care.
• Community Education and HLA builds knowledge in communities about how to access health care services through well-regarded trainings and presentations throughout Massachusetts and by authoring publications that promote access to health care.
• Policy Advocacy. HLA advocates for public policy reforms that help consumers access health care. We offer our legal expertise and experience working with consumers to policymakers on the state and federal levels, as well as advocate for policy changes by health care institutions to enhance access to care and coverage.

Learn more about HLA at

The Opportunity

The Staff Attorney for HLA's Access to Care and Coverage Practice will help lead two of HLA's key projects - the Medical-Legal Partnership for Immigrants (MLPI) and our new Family Resource Center (FRC) Project.

• Delivering consultations and trainings to FRC staff and clients to help them navigate access to affordable health care and, particularly, new barriers caused by federal actions that restrict coverage and eligibility for public health care programs; and
• Supporting the Supervising Attorney for HLA's Immigrant Initiative to manage our MLPI partnerships with hospitals and community health centers, as well as represent immigrant clients referred by these partners.

Fifty percent of the Staff Attorney's time will be dedicated to each of these projects.

Duties and Responsibilities

Provide legal representation to clients, especially those referred by MLPI and FRC partners (45%)

• Serve as the legal representative for income qualified clients. Most clients will be immigrant patients referred through our MLPI partnerships. A limited number of clients will be identified through our work with the MLPI cases typically involve immigrant clients unjustly denied enrollment in comprehensive health insurance coverage. Other matters may include denials of coverage for specific medical services, unaffordable medical bills, or other health access barriers.
• Represent clients in communications and negotiations with MassHealth and Health Connector officials, health care providers, managed care entities, and in appeals before the Office of Medicaid Board of Hearings.
• Analyze medical, health insurance and other relevant records as Conduct legal research and writing.
• Work with clients and, where relevant, their families, social services providers, medical providers, and other parties to challenge health care obstacles.
• Manage case files and promptly document all activities in our case management software. 
• As needed, participate in litigation on cases involving immigrant access issues, state court appeals of final MassHealth determinations, or other health access matters.

Project management, community engagement, and training (40%)

Family Resource Center (FRC) Project

• Support Family Resource Centers – a statewide network of local organizations that support children and families, especially those experiencing issues arising from mental health challenges – to navigate changes to public health coverage programs caused by new federal laws, regulations, and policies.
• Collaborate closely with the ACC team's FRC Fellow – a full-time position dedicated to supporting the FRCs with training, outreach, and engagement regarding changes to health coverage programs caused by new federal laws and policies – to do the following:
  • Conduct regular clinics for FRC staff and clients – both in-person and virtually – to provide consultations and case support around access to health programs and navigating other barriers to medical care.
  • Deliver trainings, presentations, and information sessions to FRC staff and clients about the impact of federal laws and policies on access to health care and coverage.
  • Participate in data collection and reporting on FRC project work and outcomes. 
  • Assist with communicating and coordinating referrals to key partners who can help clients navigate legal barriers that HLA does not address (e.g. immigration legal services, housing law, employment law, etc.).
• Directly represent a limited number of FRC clients facing health care legal barriers who are identified through the clinics.

Medical-Legal Partnership for Immigrants (MLPI)

• Collaborate with and take direction from the Supervising Attorney for the Immigrant Health Initiative to manage HLA's MLPI, a project that serves immigrant clients referred by our MLPI partners at hospitals and community health centers.
• Assist the Supervising Attorney with establishing and maintaining intake and referral processes, data collection, reporting on MLPI cases and outcomes, and participating in MLPI program development. 
• Participate in meetings with our MLPI medical provider partners to build relationships and facilitate case referrals.
• Offer case consultations to our MLPI partners regarding immigrant patients' access to care. 
• Coordinate our cases and services with other key partners such as the Rian Immigrant Center. 
• Develop and deliver trainings for our MLPI provider partners regarding access to health care benefits for immigrant patients.

Advocate for Policies that Remove Barriers to Care and Coverage (8%)

• Identify patterns of problems across cases and, alongside other HLA staff and advocacy partners, develop and deliver policy proposals to address these health access barriers.
• Attend coalition meetings with state officials and participate in strategy development and information sharing with the HLA team and partner organizations.
• Serve as HLA's point person on select health policy matters, especially those involving immigrants or FRC clients.

Administrative (7%)

Serve as "ACC Triage Attorney" for intake and ready-to-assign lists for a month-long tenure approximately twice per In partnership with the ACC Director, the responsibilities of the Triage Attorney include:

• Reviewing case documentation and release forms for all cases newly added to our ready-to-assign lists during the month, as well as other intake cases as time permits.
• Identifying relevant deadlines and urgent case matters that require immediate attention; taking action to address those matters.
• Delivering a Triage case presentation at our weekly Docket meeting focused on cases that may require immediate attention.
• Identifying cases that need additional information or documentation. 
• Collaborating with paralegals to prepare cases for referral to HLA's Legal Network or other legal services organizations.
• Assist with interviewing and onboarding new ACC staff as needed. 
• Other duties as assigned. 

Qualifications

All HLA employees are expected to have the skills to:

• Work both independently and as an effective team member. 
• Collaborate with and support staff at all levels of our organization. 
• Communicate clearly and professionally. 
• Demonstrate empathy and sensitivity while working directly with clients encountering crises. 
• Maintain confidentiality and, for attorneys, strict adherence to all professional responsibility requirements for the practice of law.
• Demonstrate intellectual curiosity, openness, and the desire and ability to listen and learn. 
• Understand and believe in the mission of the organization.
• Embody the values of the organization, including a commitment to decreasing inequity in our health care system and society as a whole.

Additional qualifications specific to this position are:

• Juris Doctor degree and a license to practice law in Massachusetts.
• 2+ years of experience in the legal or non-profit space as a practicing attorney. 
• Access to a car and ability to travel to Family Resources Centers across Massachusetts.
• Experience in direct legal services or representing immigrant clients, particularly regarding health care legal matters, is strongly desired.
• Ability to speak and write in Spanish or Portuguese is highly preferred, although other languages are also welcome.
• Experience working with state and federal health care coverage and consumer protection laws, particularly Medicaid/MassHealth, the Affordable Care Act and M.G.L. c. 93A, is a plus.
• Organized and efficient, capable of managing multiple cases with competing priorities.
• Ability to work in a team environment while also being a proactive self-starter.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills including the ability to communicate complicated health care and public health concepts in an accessible and culturally appropriate manner.
• Public policy development or policy advocacy experience, preferably relating to health care policy is a plus.

Salary Range

$79,000 - $84,000

Benefits

• Retirement Plans
  • 401(k) or Roth 401(k) retirement plans with a variable employer Employer contributions start after one year of service.
  • Your contributions vest immediately
• Medical Insurance
  • HMO and PPO Options with a generous employer contribution
• Dental and Vision Insurance
• Paid Time Off
  • 20 vacation days per year
  • 3 personal days per year
  • 15 sick days per year
  • 12 paid holidays per year
  • 1 birthday day per year
  • 3 volunteer days per year
  • That's a total of 54 days paid days of leave per year!
• Medical and Dependent Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs)
  • FSAs allow you to set aside pre-tax dollars for health care and dependent care expenses
• Life Insurance and Long-Term Disability Insurance
  • Life insurance at 2x your salary with a maximum of $400,000. The benefit is doubled in the event of accidental death.
  • Long-term disability benefit that covers 60% of salary after 90 days of disability
• Outside Health Insurance Reimbursement
  • If you obtain health insurance elsewhere (typically through a parent, spouse or domestic partner), you are eligible for a taxable reimbursement.

To Apply

Our standard process is for applications to be submitted online at: where you will upload a resume and cover letter. A cover letter is required.

If this process is not accessible to you, please contact View email address on us.fitly.work or View phone number on us.fitly.work.

HLA is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We welcome applicants of all identities with regard to race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity, veteran status, and many other factors. We celebrate diversity and are committed to building an inclusive work environment where all team members are encouraged to be their authentic and whole selves.