The National Cancer Legal Services Network Discusses How to Address Legal Needs of Survivors
Attorneys from the National Cancer Legal Services Network (NCLSN) met in New York on November 6-7, 2014 to discuss how to address the legal needs of cancer survivors. The NCLSN was established and is coordinated by LegalHealth, a division of the New York Legal Assistance Group. NCCS has been an instrumental partner in the NCLSN, which includes private law firms, non-profit legal aid organizations, medical-legal partnerships, bar associations, cancer support organizations, individual attorneys, social workers, and patient navigator programs. The NCLSN works to increase the availability of legal services to cancer survivors in underserved communities.
Topics discussed at the November meeting included how:
- survivors are accessing health insurance under the Affordable Care Act,
- changes in the Americans with Disabilities Act are benefiting survivors,
- patient navigators can help survivors identify legal needs and find legal services,
- oncology-based medical-legal partnerships can maintain funding,
- to address the legal needs of special populations, including young adult, survivors and individuals receiving palliative care, and
- legal services can be expanded to more survivors in underserved communities.
For more information about the NCLSN, please visit www.nclsn.org.
Guest post by Barbara Hoffman, JD. Barbara is a member of the legal research and writing faculty of Rutgers School of Law — Newark and is the founding chair of the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship. 
