Incarcerated people could get health insurance

Incarcerated people in Connecticut could gain access to health insurance before leaving prison, under a change proposed this week by the state's Department of Social Services.

During a presentation to lawmakers Tuesday, DSS commissioner Andrea Barton Reeves pitched expanding Medicaid to those finishing their sentences and preparing for reentry.

"We all know that the United States has the highest rates of incarceration of any industrialized nation," Barton Reeves said. "And the reality is that when folks are incarcerated or released, we have an obligation to provide some level of support so that we can be sure that people are reintegrated into society and can be successful."

Under the proposal, thousands of incarcerated people would be eligible for Medicaid coverage up to 90 days before their release, easing their transition back into general society. The policy would apply to all youth exiting the correctional system, as well as adults with mental health disorders, substance abuse issues or certain other health conditions.

According to state data, about 85 percent of the 12,000 adults who exit Connecticut jails and prisons each year would qualify.

"We are not going to have folks just get out of jail or prison and then try to figure their way through the social services system," Barton Reeves said. "This is designed to be proactive."

As part of the initiative, the state would also coordinate "health-related social needs," including housing assistance, some of which Medicaid would cover.

The process of expanding Medicaid to incarcerated people nearing release would likely take several years, Barton Reeves told CT Insider. The legislature would first have to authorize a waiver application for the federal government to approve, then later vote to appropriate the necessary funding.

If Connecticut follows through on extending Medicaid in this way, it would be the third state to do so, joining California and Washington.

Because the federal government would reimburse 86 percent of all costs, Barton Reeves said, the expansion would cost Connecticut only an estimated $8 million the first year it was implemented, $8.4 million the second year and about $9 million the third.

The effort comes after the Biden Administration last year announced a new opportunity for states to states to expand Medicaid to people nearing the end of their jail or prison sentences. Previously, incarcerated people nationwide had to wait until their release to enroll in Medicaid, leaving a period upon initial reentry in which they weren't covered.

After the DSS presentation Tuesday at a forum held by the legislature's Black and Puerto Rican Caucus, several lawmakers expressed interest in the proposal, including Sen. Patricia Billie Miller, D-Stamford, and Sen. Matt Lesser, D-Middletown.

"On the Human Services Committee, we're really interested in working with you on implementing this," Lesser told Barton Reeves. "It's very exciting, and I'm grateful to the Biden administration for approving these types of waivers."

A spokesperson for Gov. Ned Lamont said the governor supports the idea as well.

Beth Hines, executive director of Community Partners for Action, a Hartford-based organization that provides reentry support, said connection to services can be the difference between someone successfully reintegrating after leaving prison or winding up in emergency rooms or homeless shelters.

Medicaid for people nearing release, she said, "would just be incredible."

"It sounds like it absolutely will be beneficial," Hines said, noting that implementation remains years away. "It we were able to make sure that Medicaid was activated 90 days prior to release, it would help us to make those connections to providers in the community, so this would be really helpful to our role."