National MLP conference selects Indianapolis; concerned about RFRA

Just a few months after getting a national award, the medical-legal partnership program in Indiana is getting another boost.

The National Center for Medical Legal Partnership has selected Indianapolis as the site for its 2016 Annual Medical Legal Partnership Summit. Scheduled for April 6 – 8, the conference is expected to bring over 300 medical professionals, attorneys, social workers and other advocates from across the country to Indiana.

This will be the 11th annual summit and the first one held in Indianapolis.

In January, the Indiana Health Advocacy Coalition began the work of attracting the national event to the Circle City. The group raised $20,000 from several entities and got additional help from Visit Indy, the city’s tourism bureau.

Adam Mueller, vice president of IHAC, said the conference brings prestige.

“This shows we’re in a good place in Indiana right now,” Mueller said. “We got some really good programs but every day we’re finding new ways to collaborate. Having the conference here recognizes what we’ve done but also recognizes this is a fertile place to do more good work.”

The collaboration currently in place has already garnered a national honor. In March, the Eskenazi Health Midtown Community Mental Health Medical-Legal Partnership in Indianapolis received the 2015 Outstanding MLP Award from the National Center.

The medical-legal partnership, a joint program between Midtown and Indiana Legal Services, was recognized for its effort in stopping a state policy that would have ceased giving Medicaid waivers to patients with a dual diagnosis of developmental and mental health issues.

The conference will include panel discussions and breakout sessions along with keynote speakers focused on medical-legal partnerships. These partnerships work to improve the health of low-income and other vulnerable populations by addressing unmet legal and social needs that impeded access to health care.

While IHAC was trying to lure the national event, the furor over Indiana’s Religious Freedom and Restoration Act broke out and, according to Mueller, caused some concern among constituents of the National Center.

Mueller said to counter those concerns, the IHAC pointed to the outpouring of support in Indianapolis for members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. Specifically, the IHAC pointed to Mayor Greg Ballard’s statements against RFRA and the grassroots campaign that had mom-and-pop shops as well as large companies putting “This business serves everyone” stickers on their front doors. All of that, he said, helped to ease the worries.  

On its website, the National Center acknowledged Indiana’s religious freedom law and pledged to patronize only nondiscriminatory businesses.

The statement from the website said, “We recognize that Indianapolis was in the news this year for the Religious Freedom and Restoration Act, which has now been overturned. In making the decision to bring the Summit to Indianapolis, we carefully selected a hotel that is an LGBT-friendly company, and that actively supports a welcoming and inclusive environment which values and respects others regardless of sexuality or gender identity. We will look for similar practices from all vendors we use.”