JUST LAUNCHED: Interactive Map that Tracks Medicaid Reentry Work Across the Country

As people reentering communities from incarceration continue to experience exceptionally high risk of death, particularly in the first two weeks, Medicaid reentry waivers are a crucial tool that states can use to change this tide.

Though federal law prohibits federal Medicaid dollars from being used to fund health care for people who are incarcerated, in April 2023, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued guidance encouraging states to apply for Medicaid reentry waivers. When approved, states can waive the "Inmate Exclusion Policy" and utilize federal Medicaid funds to finance care for people soon to be released from jails, prisons, and juvenile carceral settings.

Initially proposed by LAC more than a decade ago in NYS, Medicaid reentry is a novel strategy proven to enhance individual and public health, strengthen reentry outcomes, and promote greater health equity and racial justice at large.

LAC's new resource details which states are working to advance Medicaid reentry, which have pending and approved waivers, how stakeholders can get involved, and more. As of the resource's launch, more than half of all states have developed or are planning to develop their own Medicaid reentry waivers.

"All of us at LAC are thrilled to see such promising momentum for Medicaid reentry throughout the nation," says LAC's Vice President of Health & Justice Policy Gabrielle de la Guéronnière. "Ensuring that people returning home from jail and prison can access transitional health care is a critical component of public health - and it's also vital to promoting racial justice. Not only is it well-documented that Black and brown Americans are disproportionately represented in our jails and prisons, but the rates of disease, from hypertension to HIV, are also disproportionately higher among incarcerated populations. Further, untreated mental illnesses and substance use disorders remain notable contributors to the overincarceration of Black and brown people in our country. Until people in reentry can access the lifesaving care they need, we risk perpetuating these devastating and very often deadly systemic inequities. Medicaid reentry presents an opportunity for states to invest in brighter futures for our shared communities, and we hope our resource helps in the effort to implement these waivers in every state."

As Medicaid reentry activity evolves across the country, LAC will be regularly updating its map and spreadsheet. Please feel free to share developments with LAC by emailing Gabrielle at [email protected].

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Media Contact:
Arianne Keegan
Director of Communications, Legal Action Center
[email protected]
(212) 243-1313

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