Advocacy
New Program Gives Justice-Involved Persons Living with Serious Mental Illness Free Legal Support
Justice-involved individuals living with serious mental illness now have access to civil legal assistance, thanks to a new partnership between Legal Council for Health Justice and Thresholds. Under the partnership, individuals with serious mental illness who are served by Thresholds’ Justice Program now have access to free, trauma-informed benefits advocacy. Individuals with serious mental illness…
Read MoreLegal Council partner Dr. Hamp receives high honor
Longtime Legal Council advocate and friend Dr. Nicole Hamp recently was awarded the Anne E. Dyson Child Advocacy Award from the American Academy of Pediatrics. Hamp received this exceptional honor for her work with Legal Council’s children and families program. This award, intended to celebrate the outstanding efforts of pediatricians-in-training to improve the health of children,…
Read MoreChildhood lead exposure: Advocating for automatic eligibility for EI services
Legal Council’s Children and Families Partnerships Director Amy Zimmerman recently published a special issue article titled “Advocating for Automatic Eligibility for Early Intervention Services for Children Exposed to Lead.” The article was co-authored with Dr. Nicole Hamp, a third-year pediatric resident at our medical-legal partnership site Comer Children’s Hospital, and Jessica Hoffen, former Legal Council…
Read MorePatient Advocates vs. Trump Administration
Patient advocates and other healthcare groups filed a lawsuit in federal court on Sept. 14 to block the Trump administration from “expanding the availability of short-term health plans that don’t offer a full set of benefits,” according to a piece in the LA Times. The administration has been trying to diminish patient security brought by the Affordable Care…
Read MoreOur Advocates Never Sleep: Program Director Receives Public Health Advocacy Award
Congratulations to Amy Zimmerman, Legal Council’s Director of Children & Families Partnerships, for receiving the Public Health Advocacy Award this past week! The Illinois Public Health Association’s Public Health Advocacy Award is awarded to an advocate whose outstanding accomplishments have bettered public health in Illinois. Amy oversees child health policy and program development tackling health…
Read MorePaying the price of HIV
Chicago resident Jared Wile can no longer afford his $1,600/month HIV prevention medication. Up until a few months ago, Jared never had to pay any out-of-pocket costs. Instead, he used a copay coupon to cover the costs of the medicine PrEP, an HIV prevention medication that, when taken daily, is proven to be 90% effective in preventing HIV. But in May, Jared learned that he could no longer use the copay coupon for the medication.
Read MorePolicy Update: Legal Council Advocacy Victories
May was a busy month for the legal experts here at Legal Council for Health Justice. When we weren’t serving and empowering low-income people with chronic illnesses or disabilities at over a dozen on-site clinics across the city, or suing the State of Illinois on behalf of thousands of Illinoisans wrongfully delayed or denied Medicaid coverage, OR leading advocacy efforts in the State Board of Education investigation into CPS’ special education program and procedural violations, our team was hard at work advocating for numerous policies across the State.
Read MoreLegal Council Advocates VS. CPS Special Education
After a public inquiry team, led by the Illinois State Board of Education, spent the last five months investigating Chicago Public Schools’ Special Education policies and practices and found significant and unnecessary delays and denials in services, the Board voted Wednesday to approve an independent monitor to oversee CPS as it works to implement changes.
Read MoreAttorneys enforce Medicaid class action
Attorneys from Legal Council for Health Justice, the Shriver Center, and Sidley Austin LLP filed in court today on behalf of thousands of low-income people to enforce federal law and the State of Illinois’ agreement to process Medicaid applications in a timely fashion. The attorneys charge that the State is violating both federal law and an Illinois…
Read MoreStop Junk Insurance in Illinois
Quality and affordable health insurance should be available to every Illinoisan and every American citizen, full stop. Unfortunately, this notion is being challenged by pending federal regulations that could result in a large expansion of the number of short term plans offered to hardworking Illinoisans. Short term plans differ from other health insurance plans; their long lists of what is not covered leaves many consumers with expensive medical bills. Plans sold in Illinois can exclude coverage for preexisting conditions, prescription drugs, hospital room and board on a weekend, and treatment for mental and health or substance abuse disorders.
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