Medicaid – Incarcerated Persons 

The federal Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services notified California that it is the first state in the nation to receive approval to offer a targeted set of Medicaid services to youth and adults in state prisons, county jails, and youth correctional facilities for up to 90 days prior to release. More than one million adults and youth enter or are released from California prisons and jails annually, and at least 80 percent of these justice-involved individuals are eligible for Medi-Cal. The intent of the demonstration is to build a bridge to community-based care for justice-involved Medi-Cal members, offering them services to stabilize their condition(s) and establishing a re-entry plan for their community-based care prior to release to improve health outcomes and prevent unnecessary admissions to inpatient hospitals, psychiatric hospitals, nursing homes, and emergency departments, and reduce overdose, suicide, homelessness, and recidivism. They are also at higher risk for injury and death as a result of violence, overdose, and suicide compared to people who have never been incarcerated. Read more here.