Eos in the News
Eos Grantee Highlighted on Popular NPR Program
April 2008
With healthcare a major issue in the upcoming presidential election and the new mandate requiring adults to have health insurance in Massachusetts, finding solutions for spiraling healthcare costs has become a top public priority. The Medical-Legal Partnership for Children – a Boston Medical Center-based nonprofit and Eos Foundation grantee – was recently featured on the prestigious ‘Marketplace’ radio program for their creative, cost-effective solution to this nationwide epidemic. ‘Marketplace,’ which airs nationally on NPR, is the most popular business program in the United States, drawing over eight million listeners weekly.
MLPC, founded in 1993 by Boston Medical Center’s Chief of Pediatrics Barry Zuckerman, seeks to help patients navigate the complex legal systems that hold solutions to health problems. In short, MLPC believes that not all illnesses are biological. Sometimes, social factors like sub-standard living conditions or malnutrition play a role in making people sick. When this happens, low-income parents are often forced to take their children to receive costly care at the emergency room, contributing heavily to the rising cost of healthcare. MLPC combines the strengths of the medical and legal professions to reduce health disparities for low-income families.
In her interview with Marketplace, Ellen Lawton, Executive Director of MLPC’s Boston office, cites the example of a family with a diabetic child. If their utilities get shut off, that family can no longer refrigerate the insulin, eventually forcing the child to the emergency room. MLPC can provide legal counsel to help get the utilities back on, avoiding another costly ER visit.
Staff Counsel Johanna Flacks noted, “There are landlords who will not respond until the matter is ratcheted up to one that is officially legal in nature.” MLPC has a simple, creative solution to offer – help low-income families fix the social factors leading to ill-health and cut costs that way. As their coverage on Marketplace shows, it’s a smart decision for both business and society.
Click here to listen to the full ‘Marketplace’ report by Jeff Tyler or read the transcript. Learn more here about The Medical-Legal Partnership for Children.
