Pennsylvania Health Law Project

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
232749089
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Philadelphia, PA, USA
Phone
2156253990
Rating
86
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Health Support Services

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,205,490
Expenses
$2,015,643
Assets
$2,138,638
Liabilities
$139,392

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

11 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MARK ANDERSON (PRESIDENT & TREASURER)
  • SARAH ROSENBERG (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • DANNA CASSERLY ESQ (CO-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
  • ERIN GUAY (CO-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • DANNA CASSERLY ESQ (CO-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $126,039 total reported compensation
  • AMY E LOWENSTEIN (DIRECTOR OF POLICY): $118,257 total reported compensation
  • ERIN GUAY (CO-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $117,992 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The mission of the Pennsylvania health law project (phlp) is to safeguard and advance health care rights for individuals from historically underserved and marginalized communities. By providing free legal services, engaging in community education, and advocating for policies that best address our clients' healthcare needs, phlp strives to ensure equitable access to healthcare, empowering people to navigate complex health systems and get the care they need.

What it reported doing in 2024

The Pennsylvania health law project (phlp) is a statewide, specialized legal aid program within the Pennsylvania legal aid network. For more than 30 years, phlp has worked to safeguard and advance the health care rights of low-income, underserved, and/or marginalized pennsylvanians.phlp's core work includes: providing direct legal services to pennsylvanians who are trying to get or keep medicaid and other public health care coverage or services. We do this through legal counseling and representation in appeals when benefits or services are denied. We also use our legal expertise to troubleshoot problems and help eliminate barriers people face trying to access health insurance coverage or health care treatment and services they need. In fy 2024-2025, phlp handled 2,378 cases for clients across Pennsylvania. Conducting community education and outreach to help people understand medicaid and other health programs for people with limited incomes and update them about program developments; raise awareness of participant rights and protections within medicaid; and share information to empower people in their self-advocacy efforts. In fy 2024-2025, phlp educated more than 2,000 people and distributed a monthly newsletter to more than 4,650 subscribers. Engaging in systemic advocacy to improve the medicaid system for all pennsylvanians who rely on this important program and to protect the rights of people in managed care. Serving as an expert resource to other legal aid programs as well as social workers, health care providers, lawyers, and other advocates and professionals working with our client community across Pennsylvania by providing technical assistance/case consultation, education, and other support. In fye 2024, phlp helped professionals with more than 400 technical assistance/case consultation requests.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 79% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 81
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 49
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 79.3%; rating input score 79
  • Program expense ratio: 86.6%; rating input score 87
  • Fundraising efficiency: $30.97 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 8.6%; rating input score 60; 60th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.06; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.07; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 18%; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 5.9% per year; rating input score 100; 44th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 5.3% per year; rating input score 100; 44th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 7.9% per year; rating input score 100; 50th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 79.3% of revenue deployed · 86.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 8 of 8 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.7M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $126K · 11 people listed
  • Consistency: 29 of 29 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: CEO compensation review process not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 39/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 14/100.