Special Projects Fund

Project Title

Supporting New York City Nonprofits Through Medicaid Redesign

Grant Amount

$50,000

Priority Area

Special Projects Fund

Date Awarded

April 20, 2016

Region

NYC

Status

Closed

Website

http://www.lany.org/

SEE GRANT OUTCOMES

New York State underwent a major Medicaid Redesign aimed to improve health outcomes, control costs, and design a more efficient administrative structure.

Although this transformation created positive change for the health care system, it has created heightened legal needs for health care and human services providers, especially those constrained by resources. As Medicaid reform efforts were intended to address health needs from a broad perspective, hundreds of nonprofits and community-based organizations, many of which offered services not traditionally viewed as health care, were impacted. In 2016, with co-funding from the New York Community Trust, NYHealth awarded the Lawyers Alliance for New York (Lawyers Alliance) a grant to provide support to nonprofits as they navigated the rollout of Medicaid Redesign.

Under this grant, Lawyers Alliance provided legal and educational services to strengthen nonprofits affected by Medicaid Redesign. Specifically, Lawyers Alliance provided direct legal representation for matters related to Medicaid Redesign; provided a resource telephone hotline that could be reached at any time, regardless of geographic location; and offered education services to nonprofit managers, board members, and attorneys. This assistance enabled resource-constrained nonprofits to understand their contractual obligations, comply with unfamiliar regulations, and plan for the long-term success of their programs. Lawyers Alliance appropriately structured its services for the range of nonprofits to be served, ensuring that nonprofits had access to affordable or pro bono legal services that helped maintain the mission and efficacy of their organizations, which provided health services to the most vulnerable New Yorkers.