Linking Seniors to Needed Legal Services Act of 2021
Bill: H.R.5241 | Sponsor: Rep. Spanberger, Abigail Davis (D-VA)
Policy area: Social Welfare

Summary:
Linking Seniors to Needed Legal Services Act of 2021
This bill establishes a grant program within the Department of Health and Human Services for states to support linkages between health services, social services, and other supports for vulnerable older adults, including through senior legal hotlines and medical-legal partnerships.
A medical-legal partnership means an arrangement in a health care or social services setting that integrates lawyers and social workers to address the needs of an individual patient related to social determinants of health (nonmedical factors such as income that influence health outcomes) and to help clinicians, case managers, and social workers address structural problems at the root of many health inequities.

To amend title XX of the Social Security Act to provide grants to 
    States to support linkages to legal services and medical legal 
                             partnerships.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Linking Seniors to Needed Legal 
Services Act of 2021''.

SEC. 2. INCENTIVES FOR DEVELOPING AND SUSTAINING STRUCTURAL COMPETENCY 
              IN PROVIDING HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES.

    (a) In General.--Part II of subtitle B of title XX of the Social 
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1397m-5) is amended by adding at the end the 
following:

``SEC. 2047. INCENTIVES FOR DEVELOPING AND SUSTAINING STRUCTURAL 
              COMPETENCY IN PROVIDING HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES.

    ``(a) Grants to States To Support Linkages to Legal Services and 
Medical Legal Partnerships.--
            ``(1) In general.--Within 2 years after the date of the 
        enactment of this section, the Secretary shall establish and 
        administer a program of grants to States to support the 
        adoption of evidence-based approaches to establishing or 
        improving and maintaining real-time linkages between health and 
        social services and supports for vulnerable elders or in 
        conjunction with authorized representatives of vulnerable 
        elders, including through the following:
                    ``(A) Medical-legal partnerships.--The 
                establishment and support of medical-legal 
                partnerships, the incorporation of the partnerships in 
                the elder justice framework and health and human 
                services safety net, and the implementation and 
                operation of such a partnership by an eligible 
                grantee--
                            ``(i) at the option of a State, in 
                        conjunction with an area agency on aging;
                            ``(ii) in a solo provider practice in a 
                        health professional shortage area (as defined 
                        in section 332(a) of the Public Health Service 
                        Act), a medically underserved community (as 
                        defined in section 399V of such Act), or a 
                        rural area (as defined in section 330J of such 
                        Act);
                            ``(iii) in a minority-serving institution 
                        of higher learning with health, law, and social 
                        services professional programs;
                            ``(iv) in a federally qualified health 
                        center, as described in section 330 of the 
                        Public Health Service Act, or look-alike, as 
                        described in section 1905(l)(2)(B) of this Act; 
                        or
                            ``(v) in certain hospitals that are 
                        critical access hospitals, Medicare-dependent 
                        hospitals, sole community hospitals, rural 
                        emergency hospitals, or that serve a high 
                        proportion of Medicare or Medicaid patients.
                    ``(B) Legal hotlines development or expansion.--The 
                provision of incentives to develop, enhance, and 
                integrate platforms, such as legal assistance hotlines, 
                that help to facilitate the identification of older 
                adults who could benefit from linkages to available 
                legal services such as those described in subparagraph 
                (A).
            ``(2) State reports.--Each State to which a grant is made 
        under this subsection shall submit to the Secretary biannual 
        reports on the activities carried out by the State pursuant to 
        this subsection, which shall include assessments of the 
        effectiveness of the activities with respect to--
                    ``(A) the number of unique individuals identified 
                through the mechanism outlined in paragraph (1)(B) who 
                are referred to services described in paragraph (1)(A), 
                and the average time period associated with resolving 
                issues;
                    ``(B) the success rate for referrals to community-
                based resources; and
                    ``(C) other factors determined relevant by the 
                Secretary.
            ``(3) Evaluation.--The Secretary shall, by grant, contract, 
        or interagency agreement, evaluate the activities conducted 
        pursuant to this subsection, which shall include a comparison 
        among the States.
            ``(4) Report to the congress.--Every 4 years, the Secretary 
        shall submit to the Congress a written report on the activities 
        conducted under this subsection.
            ``(5) Appropriation.--Out of any money in the Treasury not 
        otherwise appropriated, there are appropriated to the Secretary 
        $125,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2025 to 
        carry out this subsection.
            ``(6) Supplement not supplant.--Support provided to area 
        agencies on aging, State units on aging, eligible entities, or 
        other community-based organizations pursuant to this subsection 
        shall be used to supplement and not supplant any other Federal, 
        State, or local funds expended to provide the same or 
        comparable services described in this subsection.
    ``(b) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Area agency on aging.--The term `area agency on 
        aging' means an area agency on aging designated under section 
        305 of the Older Americans Act of 1965.
            ``(2) Community-based organization.--The term `community-
        based organization' includes, except as otherwise provided by 
        the Secretary, a nonprofit community-based organization, a 
        consortium of nonprofit community-based organizations, a 
        national nonprofit organization acting as an intermediary for a 
        community-based organization, or a community-based organization 
        that has a fiscal sponsor that allows the organization to 
        function as an organization described in section 501(c)(3) of 
        the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from taxation 
        under section 501(a) of such Code.''.
    (b) Clarification That Medical-Legal Partnerships Are Authorized 
Adult Protective Services Activities.--Section 2011 of such Act (42 
U.S.C. 1397j) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (2)(D), by inserting ``, including through 
        a medical-legal partnership'' before the period; and
            (2) by redesignating paragraphs (16) through (22) as 
        paragraphs (17) through (23), respectively, and inserting after 
        paragraph (15) the following:
            ``(16) Medical-legal partnership.--The term `medical-legal 
        partnership' means an arrangement in a health care or social 
        services setting which integrates lawyers and social workers to 
        address the needs of an individual patient related to social 
        determinants of health, and to help clinicians, case managers, 
        and social workers address structural problems at the root of 
        many health inequities, including a multidisciplinary team 
        integrated into such a setting to address the needs and 
        establish and maintain structural competence within clinicians, 
        case managers, and social workers to best address structural 
        problems at the root of many health inequities.''.
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