Health Law Advocates
Location
Boston, MA | United States
Job description
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:
Learn more about HLA at .
The Opportunity
The Medical Debt Advocate will advance HLA’s critical mission by working with our attorneys to serve clients struggling with unaffordable medical bills. About one in twenty (1 in 20) Massachusetts residents have medical bills in collections, but that burden is not carried evenly. Communities of color have much higher rates of medical debt in collections (6.3%) compared to majority-white communities (3.9%). Medical debt causes people to delay needed care and can hurt families’ financial health years after incurring the debt. HLA tackles medical debt through a multi-pronged approach:
1) Individual advocacy for people with unaffordable medical bills,
2) Engaging with community-based organizations (CBOs), particularly those primarily serving Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), to address medical debt among their community members and identify local drivers of medical debt and other trends, and
3) Collaborating with other advocates to advance a community-informed policy agenda that aims to reduce the causes and consequences of medical debt, as well as ensure private and public enforcement of existing legal protections.
The ideal candidate will have strong verbal and written language skills in English and Spanish or English and Portuguese and have experience working with clients in vulnerable situations who face challenges to accessing public benefits or services. This position will report to a Supervising Attorney.
Responsibilities
Work with HLA attorneys to advocate for clients with medical debt (70%)
• Advocate on behalf of clients, under the supervision of HLA attorneys, with medical providers and collection agencies to reduce or eliminate unaffordable medical bills.
• Assist clients with obtaining/maintaining health insurance coverage, as well as submitting financial assistance applications with medical providers.
• Investigate client matters and determine advocacy strategy in collaboration with HLA attorneys.
• Update and manage case files.
Community engagement, outreach, and training (15%)
• Serve as point person for community partnerships, outreach, and training for the Medical Debt Initiative, especially with organizations that serve and represent BIPOC communities.
• Support medical debt referral and intake processes with partner organizations, possibly through staffing in-person clinics.
o Engage with prospective medical debt clients during intake and case assignment processes.
o Assist with managing case documentation and files.
• Collaborate with HLA attorneys to deliver medical debt trainings and outreach presentations for community organizations, consumers, providers, advocates, and others.
Goal setting, data tracking, and policy advocacy (8%)
• Collaborate with the Senior Supervising Attorney for the Medical Debt Initiative, Access to Care and Coverage Practice Director, Medical Debt Litigation Attorney, and other relevant staff to:
o Set and review goals for HLA’s Medical Debt Initiative;
o Track and review medical debt data across cases, as well as work to improve systems for collecting and analyzing medical debt data;
o Identify priorities for community outreach and engagement.
• Alongside HLA attorneys, participate in advocacy for policies that reduce medical debt.
o Identify patterns of problems across cases and participate in strategy development with the HLA team and partner organizations.
o Attend coalition and advocacy meetings with state agencies and provider organizations.
o With HLA attorneys, develop comments or testimony on public policy reforms, especially those related to medical debt.
Administrative Support (5%)
- Order supplies, handle mail, scan documents, and coordinate with operations staff on administrative matters such as email and phone systems.
- Collaborate with and support intake paralegals regarding medical debt cases.
- Assist with hiring, onboarding, and training new HLA staff.
Participate in HLA efforts to improve our organization’s internal and external practices and procedures, such as through our diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) work (2%).
Qualifications
All HLA employees are expected to have the skills to:
Additional qualifications specific to this position are:
Compensation
The salary range for this position is $57,000 - $63,000 annually. HLA offers a robust benefits package including comprehensive health insurance, 401(k) contributions, and a generous paid leave policy.
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 [email protected] or 617-275-2985.
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.
Job tags
Salary
