Health Justice Initiative
Creating more just and equitable healthcare, where people who are medically underserved can achieve optimal health and well-being.
Health Justice Initiative (HJI) is a community-driven public health and legal-medical nonprofit organization that aims to promote healthcare equity by leveraging the law at the individual, community, and systemic levels. We provide litigation and mediation services at no or low cost for individuals and families experiencing poverty or low income; we empower groups and communities by raising awareness about rights, legal procedures, and government policy; and we aim to advocate for fair and just policy at various institutional and government levels to promote more equitable healthcare for all.
The Problem
Households with incomes below the poverty level face significant barriers in accessing quality healthcare due to systemic and structural inequities.
These barriers include discrimination, denial of care, language barriers, medical debt, and lack of access to insurance or other resources.
It disproportionately affects people of color, resulting in poorer health outcomes, higher healthcare costs, and greater healthcare disparities. This has a significant impact on the physical and mental health of people of color and contributes to the broader health disparities in our society.
The Solution
HJI provides free or low-cost legal assistance to medically underserved people, particularly BIPOC individuals, who are facing legal barriers within healthcare.
We work towards addressing the legal and systemic barriers that contribute to healthcare disparities. We achieve this through litigation, mediation, and policy change.
We also partner with healthcare providers, community organizations, and advocacy groups to promote health equity and ensure that everyone has access to quality, affordable healthcare.
How We Help
HJI provides free or low-cost legal assistance to those who have experienced discrimination, denial of care, language barriers, medical debt, and lack of access to insurance or other resources relating to lack of access to medical care.
Nicole's Success with Health Justice Initiative
Nicole contacted HJI for advice about a personal medical situation. Following a diagnostic error by her physician which led to an unnecessary and traumatic medical procedure, she received a bill for $19,000. While she had insurance, her insurance did not cover the full amount of the procedure. Nicole is a single mother who also cares for her elderly mother. Paying this medical bill would prove to be financially devastating for her.
As a result of having this looming debt, she refused to seek any additional, necessary health care because she was concerned that she would have to pay if she returned to the hospital. She was also concerned that the debt would affect her credit and that she might lose the home where she lived with her mother and her young child. She was even hesitant to tell her attorney because of the shame and stigma associated with having gotten herself into such a situation.
Through discussions with the insurance company, the hospital, the physician, and using mediation strategies, Health Justice Initiative was able to remove Nicole's medical bill entirely. Sadly, Nicole's story is far too common.