H.R. 9735: Clinics for Law students Investigating and Navigating Claims Assistance Act

This bill would create a new federal grant program to help law schools set up or run clinics, externships, or pro bono programs where law students, supervised by attorneys, help people with certain employee benefit disputes.

What the program would support

The grants would go to accredited law schools or similar higher-education institutions. Schools could use the money to build or operate programs that help participants and beneficiaries of employee welfare benefit plans, such as health or other employment-based benefits plans, in matters like:

• Appealing denied benefits, including internal plan appeals and external review
• Lawsuits under ERISA section 502, which is the main enforcement provision for employee benefit plan disputes
• Cases involving unpaid out-of-pocket costs owed to health care providers or facilities
• Other actions related to enforcing ERISA and obtaining benefits, as determined by the Secretary of Labor

How the money could be used

In addition to supporting the student-run legal work, the grant could also pay for an attorney to supervise the program. The bill requires that the programs be attorney-supervised rather than run by students alone.

Who could get the grants

Only eligible institutions could apply, meaning accredited law schools that are part of, or operated by, an institution of higher education. Schools would have to apply in a way and with information the Secretary of Labor requires.

Limits and administration

• No school could receive more than $500,000 per fiscal year.
• The Secretary of Labor would administer the program.
• Benefit advisors at the Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration would be required to coordinate with these programs to help people challenge denied benefit claims.
• Those federal benefit advisors could also give participants and beneficiaries a list of schools that operate these programs.
• The programs could also coordinate with state consumer assistance offices, ombudsman programs, and similar offices that help with health insurance issues.

Funding

The bill authorizes $5 million per year for fiscal years 2026 through 2030 to carry out the program.

Relevant Companies

None found