Faculty Supervisor: Suzanne H. Jackson
The Health Rights Law Clinic, which serves the Washington, DC, community as the Health Insurance Counseling Project (HICP), was created in 1995 with the help of a grant from the Health Care Financing Administration. Each year, the clinic serves more than 4,000 members of the community through direct legal services, counseling, and information sessions on health care and health insurance matters.
Second- and third-year students are trained to advise, counsel, and assist in providing legal representation to Medicare beneficiaries and seniors who live in the District of Columbia. Areas of legal representation include Medicaid, HMO or managed care coverage under Medicare, appeals regarding denial of payment for hospital or home health care, and negotiations with collection agencies regarding payment of medical bills. Through the efforts of dedicated students and faculty, the clinic has established itself as an invaluable resource to the District’s senior population.
HICP services are offered through:
- A telephone information helpline available Monday through Friday, 9 am–5 pm 202.739.0668 or TTY 202.973.1079
- In-person office visits at 2136 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
- Home visits
- Community education seminars
HICP staff
HICP services are provided by full-time staff members and a number of part-time and volunteer workers. Law and undergraduate students from The George Washington University participate in the program, as do volunteers from the community.
Students in this clinic provide advice and information and assist in providing legal representation to older DC residents who are having difficulty with Medicare, Medicaid, and other health insurance issues. Students perform client interviews, assist clinic attorneys in developing legal remedies, and represent clients at administrative hearings before federal administrative law judges.
The Jacob Burns Community Legal Clinics were founded in 1971, and were dedicated in 1991 to acknowledge the generous support of Jacob Burns (LL.B. '24, LL.D. '70). Burns was renowned for his philanthropy, through which he "contributed significantly to the expanding boundaries of knowledge," and left an enduring legacy that improves the lives of many today.