- HLA’s Mission on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
- HLA Founds and Co-chairs National Working Group Defending Clients Against Nursing Home Collections
- State Provides Funding for Mental Health Advocacy Program (MHAP) for Kids to Expand Statewide
- Year-End Appeal Thank You
- HLA Approved to be a Vendor for Technical Assistance Program
- Congratulations, Wells Wilkinson!
- 25th Annual Benefit Breakfast Thank You
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Dear Friends,
Along with many of you, this week HLA is marking a full year since we moved completely to a work-from-home arrangement.
On that mid-March day, we certainly didn't expect that over the next year we would not return to our offices and would represent more than 1,000 clients, conduct more than 80 training programs, and successfully advocate for a wide range of policies to ensure health care access throughout the pandemic. But, that is exactly what has happened.
I could not be more proud of the work of our team over the past 12 months. They've hung in there and stuck together and dedicated themselves completely to helping people in the most trying of times.
And, I could not be more grateful to the hundreds and hundreds of supporters and partners who have made our work possible.
As always, we are very happy to provide you with this update on our work. We can't wait to see you some day soon.
Warm regards,
Matt Selig
Executive Director
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HLA’s Mission on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion |
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Last summer, HLA formed a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Committee in an effort to aggressively and strategically advance equity in our organization. Six months into this permanent endeavor, staff members who stepped up to lead the charge developed a DEI mission statement (shared below) and spurred the launch of a paid summer internship program at HLA (more than 700 applications were submitted!). In addition to four paid summer internships for law students, we are also hiring a paid intern to support the work of the DEI Committee.
Our DEI Committee has made progress in other ways. The Committee conducted a formal online survey of our staff to determine our collective DEI goals, including desired trainings, which are now being scheduled. The Committee is taking steps to strengthen HLA's recruitment by expanding our database of virtual job boards, listservs, and job search engines and developing a formal equity recruitment & hiring policy. HLA's budget, approved by our Board last summer, ensures our DEI activities are well-funded.
DEI Committee Mission Statement
HLA is fully invested in advancing equity at the individual, organizational, and systems levels. To achieve this mission, we will develop and implement short- and long-term goals aimed at identifying and dismantling instances of inequity while continually monitoring the effectiveness of our work in the following four realms:
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Within Ourselves: We will work to develop a supportive workplace, and create a repository of relevant tools, shared vocabulary, and trainings that will enable HLA staff to deeply explore issues of diversity and identity, while confronting our own biases and recognizing the unearned privileges we may have accrued throughout our lives;
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Within Our Organization: We will work to develop internal policies and practices that are equitable and inclusive so that our organization is increasingly representative of the communities we serve, and our staff feel supported and safe (e.g. hiring/staffing, professional development, organizational culture, and operating procedures);
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Within Our Client Community: We will work to develop practices that are responsive to and empowering of our client community so that the experiences of our clients are elevated and drive our work (e.g. outreach to underrepresented communities, developing case priorities and managing waitlists, developing community partnerships, and removing language and technology barriers);
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Within the Larger Community & Commonwealth: We will advocate for antiracist policy reforms at the state, federal, and other institutional levels in furtherance of our mission to step fully into the job of advancing equity and to actively dismantle systems and structures that perpetuate oppression in all of its forms.
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HLA Founds and Co-chairs National Working Group Defending Clients Against Nursing Home Collections |
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HLA recently founded and began co-chairing a national working group of elder law, public benefits, and consumer lawyers defending clients against unjust nursing home collections actions. In the past year, HLA has represented a significant number of clients who reached out to us for help when they were subjected to extremely concerning debt collection practices by nursing homes in Massachusetts. We've discovered that this is happening across the country. Many of these actions violate federal prohibitions against requiring third parties to guarantee nursing home debt, but nursing homes continue to require residents’ friends and family members to sign these illegal agreements.
In November 2020, HLA’s Legal Director, Justin Lowe, presented on these efforts at the National Consumer Law Center’s annual Consumer Rights Litigation Conference. Interest in the national working group has continued to develop. The group’s most recent meeting on January 11th welcomed 40+ advocates from around the country.
In the pipeline, Attorney Lowe will be drafting an article on nursing home debt collection for the National Consumer Law Center and will also present at the National Consumer Law Center’s Fair Debt Collection Practices Act conference in March.
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State Provides Funding for Mental Health Advocacy Program (MHAP) for Kids to Expand Statewide |
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HLA’s Mental Health Advocacy Program for Kids (MHAP for Kids) is on the move. HLA is now in the midst of expanding MHAP for Kids to cover seven additional counties, giving it a statewide service area. This exciting expansion is made possible by funding allocated for MHAP for Kids in this year’s state budget, signed into law by Governor Baker on December 11, 2020. The additional funding is allowing HLA to add: an attorney based in Pittsfield to serve Berkshire, Franklin, and Hampshire counties; an attorney based in Brockton to serve Plymouth County; and an attorney based in Hyannis to serve the Cape and Islands (Barnstable, Dukes, and Nantucket counties).
MHAP for Kids provides legal assistance to families with children with mental illness who are not receiving the mental health services they need. The program's attorneys, who represented nearly 350 families in 2020, are based in Family Resource Centers, a network of family support agencies supported by the state's Department of Children and Families (DCF).
MHAP for Kids is needed now more than ever, because the COVID-19 pandemic poses a severe threat to children’s mental health as well as to access to mental health services for children. By increasing funding for MHAP for Kids, the Legislature and Governor Baker’s Administration understand that addressing these issues should be a priority during these times.
MHAP for Kids expansion to a statewide service area caps a decade-long effort by HLA to create a statewide system for providing legal assistance to children in low-income situations who lack access to mental health care and are in juvenile court, or at risk of court-involvement, as a result. This movement stemmed from a highly successful pilot program HLA ran in Worcester County in the mid-2000's in collaboration with then-Juvenile Court Justice Luis Perez.
According to the report Protecting our Children’s Wellbeing During COVID-19 , issued by the Childhood Trauma Task Force in June 2020, youth experiencing trauma and in need of mental health services are particularly vulnerable during the COVID-19 pandemic. The impact on children of an increase of economic insecurity, abuse or neglect, loss of loved ones, social inequities, disrupted education, social isolation as well as underlying mental health conditions demonstrate the need for robust advocacy services like those offered by MHAP for Kids and funds to expand the program statewide. |
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HLA is grateful to the Baker/Polito Administration for approving this funding and the entire Legislature for initiating the funding increase for MHAP for Kids in the state's FY '21 budget. In the Legislature, we owe enormous thanks to Senate President Karen Spilka, the previous House Speaker Robert DeLeo, Senate Ways and Means Committee Chair Michael Rodrigues, and House Ways and Means Committee Chair Aaron Michlewitz for their strong support for MHAP for Kids and dedication to children with mental health needs.
HLA is especially thankful to Senate Ways and Means Committee Vice Chair Senator Cindy Friedman for leading the way in the budget process to secure funding in this year's budget to expand MHAP for Kids and for her unyielding commitment to mental health access.
We also greatly appreciate the important role played by Representative Kay Khan in championing funding for MHAP for Kids in the House of Representatives and all she does to protect vulnerable children in Massachusetts.
In addition to the funding provided by DCF through the state's budget, MHAP for Kids also relies on grants to reach families statewide. Our program is now generously supported by grants from The Peter and Elizabeth C. Tower Foundation, the Theodore Edson Parker Foundation, the Massachusetts Probation Service, the Essex County Community Foundation, the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts, the Ludcke Foundation, the Gardiner Howland Shaw Foundation and the Cabot Family Charitable Trust.
Generous support for this work has also been provided by Boston Children’s Hospital and Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP and many more corporate and individual sponsors.
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Join the
MHAP for Kids Team!
MHAP’s statewide expansion means we are immediately hiring for the following positions. While each attorney position serves a specific county or counties, all HLA staff members are currently working remote.
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Year-End Appeal Thank You |
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Thank You to the Following Donors for Contributing to our
2020 Year End Appeal!
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- Walter and Alice Abrams Family Fund at the Boston Foundation
- Lauren and Tony Barnes
- Christine Bishundat
- Michael Blau and Ann Muschett
- Emily Brice
- Douglas Brown and Jennifer Ryan-Brown
- Julia Butner
- Mary Cassesso
- Arva Clark
- Grace Connolly
- Thomas and Geraldine Crane
- Rosalyn Davis
- Peter and Priscilla Diamond
- Mark Doherty
- Edward M. Kennedy Community Health Center
- Alan Einhorn
- Kathy Eklund
- Lynne Ellis
- Peter Enrich
- Jonathan Feigenbaum
- Matthew Fox and Celeste Ng
- Don Freedman
- Sen. Cindy F. Friedman
- Jennifer Gallop
- Gail Garinger
- Alan Geismer
- Pamela Giannatsis
- Maria Gonzalez
- Stephen Gorrie
- Ilene Greenberg
- Matthew Herndon
- Donald and Patricia Hillman
- Constance Hilton
- Erica Hitchings
- Jeffrey Huang
- Barbara Huggins Carboni
- Kristen Johnson
- Rudolph Kass
- Meghan Kelly
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- Bennett Klein
- Martin Levin & Kelly Sprague
- Mary Mahoney
- Thomas McGuire and Margarita Alegria
- Francesca Miceli
- Sarah Miller
- Mollie Baldwin Foley Charitable Trust
- Maria Mossaides
- John and Lucia Mudd
- Christine Murphy
- Patrick Ouellette
- Katherine Parke
- Maryanne Peabody
- Frederic Pirie
- Max Rasbold-Gabbard
- Nina Rosenberg
- James Rowan
- Mark Rukavina
- Robert Russell
- Mary Ryan
- Robert Sable
- Peter Saradjian
- Kate and Celia Segel
- Andrew Seligsohn
- Alexandra Shalom
- Marla Shatkin
- Patrick Sheehan
- Stephen Shestakofsky
- Siegrist Family Fund
- David Singer
- Maxwell Solet
- Kenneth Sweder
- Mikaela Taberner
- Diane Tillotson
- Tufts Health Plan Foundation
- Yvette Verdieu
- Barbara Wand
- Wendy Warring & Troy Brennan
- Benjamin Wilson
- Ronald Witmer
- Tamara S. Wolfson & John Ruppert
- Rachel Ziegler
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HLA Approved to be a Vendor for
MassHealth Technical Assistance Program
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HLA is happy to announce that, back in November, we were selected as an approved vendor for MassHealth’s 2021-2022 Technical Assistance (TA) Program that serves MassHealth’s Accountable Care Organizations (ACO) and Community Partners (CP). These entities provide insurance coverage and health care services for MassHealth members. Through the TA Program, HLA will conduct projects that will improve access to health care for people enrolled in MassHealth as well as improve their health and overall wellbeing. The TA program was created by the state when it transitioned our state’s Medicaid program to the ACO model in 2018.
HLA attorneys will provide TA in the form of training programs for ACO and CP staff as well as assistance with individual members facing barriers to needed health care. HLA’s extensive experience addressing difficult-to-solve health care barriers, such as those encountered by people with mental illness (especially youth), immigrants, and people with disabilities, make HLA an especially valuable TA partner. As a statewide organization with a team that has deep knowledge of the intricacies of the MassHealth program and years of working with consumers, HLA looks forward to pursing our mission of Health Care Justice in partnership with ACOs and CPs participating in the TA program.
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Congratulations, Wells Wilkinson! |
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In December, The Autism Insurance Resource Center (AIRC), a program of the Shriver Center at UMass Medical School recognized HLA Senior Supervising Attorney Wells Wilkinson with its Champion Award. Wells was saluted for his work over the years to improve access to services for people with autism throughout Massachusetts. Wells has been a state leader on improving insurance coverage for autism services, including efforts to promote our state’s statutory mandate for coverage of treatment for autism, with the Mass. Division of Insurance, our state’s Office of Patient Protection and the Office of the Massachusetts Attorney General.
On top of that, Wells celebrated his five-year anniversary last month at HLA. Thank you so much, Wells, for all your incredible efforts. You are truly an inspiration.
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25th Annual Benefit Breakfast Recap |
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Though our 25th Anniversary Benefit Breakfast was a few months ago, this newsletter provides a chance for us to share a couple of the highlights from the program with many of you for the first time.
We were honored to have Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley and Dr. Angela Davis as keynote speakers and are happy to share a few of their words from the event with all of you below.
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Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley |
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Kara Hurvitz
Kara joined HLA in September and comes to us by way of MLPB, where she supported health and human service providers in their efforts to detect, triage, and address patients’ health-related social needs through regular consultation. Prior, Kara was a Social Services Advocate for the Committee for Public Counsel Services (CPCS), where she advocated for clients navigating the criminal justice system and seeking to access benefits and services. She also provided consultation for CPCS staff attorneys on issues of disability and benefits law. Kara holds both a law degree from Boston College Law School and a master’s degree in social work from Boston College Graduate School of Social Work.
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Tasha Marshall
Tasha joins the MHAP for Kids team as our Staff Attorney serving Bristol County. Before HLA, Tasha served the City of Holyoke, Massachusetts as an Assistant City Solicitor. Her practice areas include litigation, real estate, and providing legal opinions to the Mayor, City Council, and City Departments & Boards. Previously, Attorney Marshall defended indigent people in criminal cases as a public defender with the Committee for Public Counsel Services. Attorney Marshall earned her Juris Doctor from Western New England University School of Law in 2016 and has been an active member of the law school’s alumni since graduating.
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Rebecca Wilson
Rebecca joined HLA in February as a Paralegal for the Mental Health Advocacy Program for Kids. Prior to joining the MHAP for Kids team, Rebecca participated in Health Career Connection's 2020 summer cohort, interning at the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers. Other experiences include interning at Albany's District Attorney's Community Justice Outreach Center, NFI Massachusetts, and the New York State Assembly. Rebecca earned her B.A. in Criminal Justice and Sociology from the State University of New York at Albany.
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Stacey Dedian
Stacey joins the MHAP for Kids team as our Staff Attorney serving Plymouth County. Before HLA, Stacey was a self-employed Family Law Attorney specializing in divorce, child support, mediation, and other family law issues for over ten years. Stacey also has experience in Guardian ad Litem and Court Investigations and worked for the Committee for Public Counsel Services/Children and Family Law Program, where she represented parents and children in cases involving Care & Protection Petitions in Plymouth and Norfolk counties. Before launching her legal career, Stacey oversaw a variety of programs in the Department of Children and Families across her ten-year tenure there. Stacey earned her J.D. from the New England School of Law.
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Karen Schwartzman
Long-time HLA champion Karen Schwartzman joins HLA as a volunteer medical debt advocate. Karen has supported and contributed to HLA since our founding and was a member of our Board of Directors in our early days. Karen helps to relieve full-time staff of certain administrative tasks and helps move cases forward by contacting clients, medical vendors, and billing offices to complete case documentation. She also helps draft case-related communications. Karen also maintains her public relations practice focused on crisis management which she established twenty-plus years ago after working in both public and private sector positions.
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We bid a bittersweet farewell to |
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Hannah Singer
Hannah joined HLA as MHAP for Kids' Intake Coordinator and oversaw all the intake for the program as well as conducted important data collection for cases that we accepted. Hannah also supported our efforts advocating with the Legislature for funding for MHAP for Kids in the FY’21 budget. We congratulate on her Fulbright Scholarship in the Canary Islands and wish her the best of luck.
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Sandy Eid
Sandy joined HLA as our AmeriCorps Fellow and represented several HLA clients to eliminate their medical debts for emergency transportation, emergency surgeries, including surprise out-of-network billing for emergency treatment, and debts due to inappropriate lapses in public benefits coverage. She has been an invaluable team member here at HLA. We wish her well in her now endeavor working with the firm of Mazzocca and Associates.
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Health Law Advocates
One Federal Street | Boston, MA 02110 | 617.338.5241 | www.healthlawadvocates.org
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