HHS Provides Clarified Guidance on Medicaid for Justice Involved Individuals

The Department of Health and Human Services has announced guidance for when Medicaid can be used for justice-involved individuals in community settings.

These updates, which help facilitate enrollment in Medicaid and support access to services, are important for ensuring individuals successfully transition from incarceration into the community.

As reported by NACo:

Today, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released anticipated guidance that clarifies when Medicaid can be used for justice-involved individuals in community settings. Released as part of National Reentry Week, the guidance updates policy issued in 1997 and includes the following:

  • Medicaid can be used for services provided to eligible individuals on parole, probation and home confinement.
  • It extends eligibility to those living in corrections supervised community residential facilities, also known as halfway houses.
  • The guidance maintains the ability of counties to seek federal Medicaid reimbursement for inpatient health services provided to inmates (also known as the Medicaid inpatient exception).
  • It acknowledges that gaps in coverage lead to increased recidivism and accordingly reaffirms that states should suspend, instead of terminate, Medicaid benefits for jail and prison inmates.

For more information read the full post on the NACo Blog and the HHS Guidance.