Turn On Care! 

National Strategy Discussion on NY’s Application to Waive the Medicaid “Inmate” Exclusion Provision 

Live Webinar

Wednesday, June 26th, 4:00 - 5:00 pm ET

New York State is seeking approval to waive current law and use federal Medicaid dollars to finance certain health care services for incarcerated people 30 days before release. If approval is granted, New York would become the first state in the country to use Medicaid ‘inside the walls’. This represents huge opportunities to substantially improve both health and criminal justice outcomes in New York and for other states to consider and build upon New York’s model.

Please join us for a discussion of next steps in New York’s waiver application process and a strategy discussion on how national health and justice stakeholders can collectively weigh in to Turn On Care in their states.

For additional information, please visit our Medicaid Waiver Page.

Who Should Attend?

Any and all advocates in New York and nationwide who want to learn about New York’s process to apply for a waiver of the Medicaid “Inmate” Exclusion, our collective next advocacy steps, and the broader implications for promoting greater health and justice.

Background

In September of 2016, New York became the first state to propose having Medicaid pay for specific and limited transitional care inside prisons and jails. The state requested a waiver of the Medicaid Inmate Exclusion provision during a person’s final 30 days of incarceration. With such a waiver, Medicaid could provide a sustainable long-term funding stream for crucial transitional services that one-time public and private grants cannot. The application received more than 200 supportive comments from around the country. In January of 2017, however, New York withdrew its waiver amendment application over concerns about how the new Administration would respond to it.

Now, in light of the state’s overdose epidemic, New York is poised to resubmit the waiver amendment application to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services ("CMS") requesting permission to use Medicaid during a person’s final month of incarceration to pay for certain transitional health services (e.g., mental health and substance use disorder care, health assessments, and medication). A major barrier to reentry and connection to community care is the fact that incarcerated individuals automatically lose health insurance coverage upon incarceration, which prevents community health providers from doing ‘in-reach’ to provide transitional care before the individual leaves prison or jail. A waiver would override a decades-old law barring Medicaid from paying for services inside correctional facilities, and would allow people access to community-based health providers before they are released from incarceration. Similarly, additional voices from around the country are critically needed to call for improved access to quality care for incarcerated individuals in their respective states and localities.

Presenters

Tracie Gardner, Legal Action Center

Keith Brown, Katal Center for Health, Equity, and Justice

Gabrielle de la Gueronniere, Legal Action Center

Registration is limited. Please click the button below to RSVP!