Access to Medicaid Coverage and Care for Adults Leaving Incarceration

This presentation outlined a draft chapter on access to Medicaid coverage and care for adults leaving incarceration. The descriptive chapter draws on findings from an expert panel and extensive interviews with state Medicaid and corrections officials, as well as Commission discussions. It begins by summarizing the demographic characteristics and health care needs of justice-involved adults, as well as their access to Medicaid. Federal law prohibits the use of federal Medicaid funds for health care services for inmates of public institutions except in cases of inpatient care lasting 24 hours or more. The chapter then describes state efforts to provide timely Medicaid coverage and care for adults leaving state prisons and local jails, including through Section 1115 demonstrations to provide Medicaid-covered services during incarceration. It concludes by providing key considerations for implementing pre-release Medicaid services, which can inform how states operationalize their Section 1115 demonstrations, as well as future guidance and activities undertaken by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and other federal agencies to support states in those efforts.