Toolkit: State Strategies to Enroll Justice-Involved Individuals in Health Coverage
Executive Summary
Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), many individuals involved in the criminal justice system are now eligible for Medicaid, including many young, low-income males who did not previously qualify. More...
Of the approximately 10 million individuals released annually from prisons or jails, 70 to 90 percent are estimated to lack health insurance.[2] Without health coverage, these individuals are much less likely to receive the services or treatment they need to improve and maintain their health and well-being. Lacking coverage and a regular source of care, these individuals may seek treatment in hospital emergency departments, which shifts health care costs to states and localities. Additionally, for individuals with mental illness or substance use disorders in particular, a lack of access to health care is correlated with increased recidivism rates.[3]
Although individuals are not permitted to receive Medicaid benefits while incarcerated, Medicaid enrollment processes can begin prior to an individual’s release from incarceration. In some states, prisons and jails have taken steps to implement procedures to begin the Medicaid application process as individuals are nearing their incarceration release dates. NASHP conducted a series of interviews with state officials and found strategies states are using that have made these efforts successful:
- Identifying simple and streamlined ways to integrate Medicaid enrollment procedures with existing correctional institution processes, such as incorporating enrollment efforts into existing discharge planning activities or centralizing application processing functions
- Developing strong partnerships between state Medicaid agencies and correctional authorities to support enrollment efforts, characterized by effective communication and backing from organizational leadership
- Implementing flexible approaches that can be adapted and improved over time, such as moving from a paper Medicaid application for incarcerated individuals to an electronic process
Implementing processes to enroll justice-involved individuals in health coverage on a large scale is a new endeavor for states and their efforts are in the early stages. Given this, many states are currently working through various policy and operational challenges. For example, some state officials noted the challenge of identifying an individual’s specific release date, especially for the jail population. However state officials reported that overall they viewed these efforts as successful considering the large number of enrollments that have occurred.
For detailed information on selected states’ efforts to enroll justice-involved individuals in health coverage, click through the toolkit below.
[1] The Pew Charitable Trusts and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, State Prison Health Care Spending: An Examination, July 2014.
[2] The Council of State Governments Justice Center. Medicaid and Financing Health Care for Individuals Involved with the Criminal Justice System. December 2013.
[3] The Council of State Governments Justice Center. Medicaid and Financing Health Care for Individuals Involved with the Criminal Justice System. December 2013.
Health insurance options available through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) offer new opportunities to enroll individuals involved in the criminal justice system into coverage and provide access to physical and behavioral health services critical to their successful reentry into the community. Many individuals involved in the criminal justice system are now eligible for Medicaid under the ACA, including many young, low-income males who did not previously qualify for Medicaid.
With one exception
State and local correctional authorities in some states have established processes to bill Medicaid for qualifying inpatient events. As the ACA allows for a greater number of justice-involved individuals to be eligible for Medicaid coverage, implementing these procedures has helped reduce correctional health care costs for some states.
Drawing on interviews with state officials, this toolkit highlights the efforts of selected states to enroll in health coverage individuals involved with the criminal justice system. The toolkit is designed to provide state officials with actionable information about policies and practices available to connect justice- involved individuals to health care coverage through Medicaid.
Methods
This toolkit does not provide a comprehensive examination of all states and their efforts to enroll this population in health coverage. Rather, it features information about efforts to enroll justice-involved individuals in seven states chosen for their varying enrollment strategies, as well as political and geographic diversity. The states include: Colorado, Illinois, New Mexico, Ohio, Rhode Island, Washington and Wisconsin. NASHP conducted telephone interviews with state officials from both Medicaid agencies and corrections departments from February to September of 2015. In all but one state, agency representatives were interviewed separately.[3]
[1] State Medicaid Director Letter from Glenn Stanton, Acting Director of the Disabled and Elderly Health Programs Group, Center for Medicaid and State Operations, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (May 25, 2004).
[2] 42 U.S.C. § 1396(a)(8)
[3] One exception for Illinois was that only one interview was conducted, with a state official from Governor Pat Quinn’s office.
For many states, enrolling justice-involved individuals in health coverage requires implementing new policies and procedures or modifying existing processes and rules. This section of the toolkit highlights how states instituted changes to policies and operations to facilitate the enrollment of incarcerated individuals prior to their release from correctional facilities. State officials noted the importance of beginning the application process prior to individuals’ release dates to increase the likelihood they will reenter the community with health coverage in place.
Policy Changes
Nearly all of the states interviewed for this project implemented some type of policy change, including enacting new state laws, amending Medicaid state plans or contracts with insurers, or developing new interagency agreements to support initiatives to enroll justice-involved individuals in health coverage. While it is permissible under federal law for individuals to enroll in Medicaid while incarcerated, some states have implemented these policies to reinforce their enrollment initiatives. The following descriptions provide state-specific examples of these kinds of policy changes. In some instances, states also made process changes that did not require a policy change in order to implement these enrollment efforts. See the changes in processes implemented by states to integrate health coverage enrollment procedures into correctional facilities.
State Legislation

Advocates of suspension policies have noted that one key benefit is that when individuals with suspended Medicaid coverage are released from incarceration, their Medicaid benefits can be more easily reinstated. Consequently these individuals have the potential to more readily access needed medical and behavioral health services once they reenter the community.
Now that more justice-involved individuals are Medicaid-eligible due to the ACA, states may want to consider enacting policies and procedures to implement suspension. Currently, only a relatively small number of states have implemented policies to suspend rather than terminate individuals’ Medicaid coverage upon incarceration. Additionally, some states that have established suspension policies have not implemented suspension features into their eligibility systems. Most commonly this is because the technical challenges and the considerable financial investments required are too significant to warrant the large system changes needed to implement suspension.
Furthermore, with the implementation of the ACA’s real-time eligibility determination and enrollment requirements, some state officials that NASHP interviewed indicated that there could be less of a need for individuals with Medicaid coverage to be placed in a suspension status upon incarceration. However other state officials noted the potential value of implementing suspension, particularly for individuals who lose Medicaid coverage during a short-term jail stay, because initiating and completing a new application for these individuals can be logistically challenging.
However based on conversations with state officials from the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing (HCPF) – Colorado’s Medicaid agency – and this HCPF memo from March 2014, the department has not yet implemented a function within its systems to suspend Medicaid upon incarceration. Therefore correctional facilities are still required to terminate coverage for those individuals who are enrolled in Medicaid and become incarcerated. HCPF’s systems will have suspend functionality in 2016.



Additionally, in the 2015 legislative session, SB 5593 was introduced, which allows for individuals to be screened for Medicaid eligibility at the time of booking into jail and then enrolled in the program if found to be eligible. The advantage of conducting these assessments at intake is that beginning the application process at this stage increases the likelihood that a greater proportion of the Medicaid-eligible individuals in correctional facilities will have coverage upon release. The bill was signed into law in May 2015 and became effective in July of 2015.
State Plan Amendments

Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) between state agencies


State and local correctional authorities in some states have established processes to bill Medicaid for qualifying inpatient events. As the ACA allows for a greater number of justice-involved individuals to be eligible for Medicaid coverage, implementing these procedures has helped reduce correctional health care costs for some states.

Contract Modifications

Eligibility Determination Changes

Process Changes
States that are enrolling the justice-involved population in coverage have also implemented changes to processes and procedures in their Medicaid and corrections departments that make it easier to enroll eligible individuals. While some states noted they already had in place certain processes to enroll Medicaid-eligible incarcerated individuals to cover the cost of inpatient hospital stays or when they were nearing their release date, others had not done so. With the implementation of the ACA and a greater number of individuals eligible for Medicaid, some states developed new procedures for enrolling eligible individuals or modified their existing processes.
Application Process Changes
Colorado: The Department of Health Care Policy and Financing (HCPF) and the DOC worked together to develop procedures to efficiently process Medicaid applications for incarcerated individuals. DOC officials indicated that when Colorado implemented the ACA’s Medicaid expansion, initial enrollment efforts focused on enrolling individuals in Medicaid for qualifying inpatient health care services. To broaden the scope of these efforts to include individuals leaving incarceration, the DOC hired two full-time nurse case managers to specifically focus on processing applications as part of pre-release planning. Case managers at the correctional facilities send a permission form signed by the incarcerated individual to the nurse case managers at the DOC’s central office. The nurse case managers complete applications electronically based on information in the DOC’s database. Most of the individuals transitioning to the community who are found to be Medicaid-eligible are able to leave the correctional facility with a Medicaid card. If the card is not available prior to an individual’s release, the nurse case managers contact the correctional facility case managers to provide them with the individual’s Medicaid eligibility number and the contact number of a nurse case manager who can provide further assistance.
To ensure accurate and timely eligibility determinations, HCPF has given the DOC limited access to PEAKPro, an online tool to help authorized state agents assist Coloradans. DOC may apply for Medical Assistance on the individual’s behalf if the individual agrees. Most eligibility determinations are made in real time, although in some cases a manual determination must be made. In spring of 2015, HCPF transferred the responsibility for processing manual DOC applications to an eligibility and enrollment contractor that regularly handles a large volume of applications.
HCPF has also provided the DOC with other types of assistance. For example, they developed software specifically for the DOC to enter in and track the status of applications, which has helped streamline the overall application process. Additionally, they have provided the DOC’s nurse case managers who process applications with direct support to address issues. Previously the enrollment applications were handled through a hybrid paper-electronic process, but as of spring 2015 the application process is conducted entirely online. The DOC has reported that the short-turn around time of the application processing is very efficient and that this has helped with their overall ability to handle a large volume of applications.
Illinois: Local assister entities have conducted the majority of the enrollment for justice-involved individuals. Some of these assister community organizations have reached out directly to county jails to provide enrollment assistance and help individuals understand how to appropriately access care once they reenter the community. At the state level, Get Covered Illinois, the state/federal marketplace partnership organization in Illinois, supports these efforts by providing the assister organizations with information about how the ACA affects justice-involved individuals. Get Covered Illinois has also offered suggestions and technical assistance to these organizations about how to connect with criminal justice entities and ways to potentially integrate enrollment processes into these facilities. View the enrollment guide.
New Mexico: Officials from the Human Services Department (HSD) indicated that overall the presumptive eligibility (PE) process has been working well. HSD staff members indicated that they have been working with the DOC as well as Santa Fe and Bernalillo Counties, since the spring of 2014 to facilitate their ability to conduct PE determinations. HSD provided the staff at state prisons and these two county jails with extensive training to allow them to become PE determiners. View training materials here and here. View New Mexico’s PE Submission Checklist here. Related: You can view a fact sheet about New Mexico’s Enrollment in Medicaid for Incarcerated Individuals Released (IIR) & Short Term Medicaid for Incarcerated Individuals (STMII) here.
HSD officials reported that the PE process includes a full Medicaid application, and that for the majority of individuals the necessary information can be obtained electronically through state and/or federal databases. The HSD indicated that there are some challenges in obtaining the necessary paperwork from individuals when they do not have mailing addresses for cases that require follow-up with individuals after their release from incarceration to complete the eligibility determination.
Ohio: In those Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (ODRC) prisons that have begun enrollment efforts, the Medicaid application process is initiated via phone with paper follow-up. First, optional classes led by peer educators are offered to individuals 90-120 days prior to their release. The classes provide information about Medicaid coverage and preview the questions that will be addressed during the enrollment application phone call. During the classes individuals also sign authorization and other pre-enrollment forms, which ODRC collects and maintains. After completing the classes, individuals use designated phones in each correctional facility to connect directly to the Medicaid enrollment center at specified times. Enrollment center phone staff as well as the trained peer counselors can assist with the process. The phone call allows the individual to select a Medicaid managed care plan, but does not entail official Medicaid eligibility determination and enrollment. After all necessary forms have been collected, the ODRC sends individuals’ information in batches to the state’s Medicaid portal, where the eligibility determination is conducted.
The Medicaid agency indicated that while initially the enrollment process has been done manually, they are currently transitioning to automating the process. Generally, individuals begin the enrollment process approximately 90 days prior to release, and in most cases those who choose to apply and are found to be eligible are able leave the correctional facility with a Medicaid card.
Rhode Island: The DOC integrated the Medicaid application process into existing discharge planning services. Due to the DOC’s security concerns regarding incarcerated individuals using computers, individuals complete paper Medicaid applications that are then hand-carried by DOC staff to the Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS). Current practice is to submit the paper applications two weeks prior to individuals’ release dates to allow time for their information to be entered into the system. However, the actual Medicaid eligibility determination process does not occur until the individual’s incarceration release date. Individuals being released from incarceration are provided a phone number to initiate the activation of their benefits.
Rhode Island’s EOHHS worked closely with the DOC to increase the accuracy of incarceration status data and to address challenges related to identity and income verification. One of the issues the departments encountered was that federal data sources did not have information about an individual’s incarceration release date and the system often indicated an individual was still incarcerated even though s/he had been released. After discussions between the two agencies, the DOC and EOHHS revised processes and implemented system changes so that the DOC’s databases could be more easily accessed to obtain real-time data on incarceration status.
Also recognizing the need to address the issue of income verification, EOHHS developed a self-attestation form for individuals to indicate lack of income, and then informed exchange contact center staff and Navigators to accept this as a valid document. In terms of identification, the DOC provides each individual released to the community with two forms of photo identification—one form of general identification and a copy of a page from the DOC database that indicates their release date. This information can be provided to assisters who might be working with these individuals to enroll them in coverage.
Washington: Staff members in state correctional facilities regularly facilitate group meetings with individuals nearing their incarceration release dates to provide information about Medicaid coverage and assist with completing paper applications. The DOC designated three staff members in the state’s central office to process applications from all of the state’s correctional facilities. The DOC chose to centralize the process of inputting application information into the Medicaid eligibility system both because of limits on the number of staff members able to access the system but also to minimize staff work at the correctional facilities. An agreement with the Health Care Authority permits Medicaid application information to be entered into the system 30 days prior to individuals’ release dates, which allows time for the Medicaid cards to be sent to correctional facilities prior to the date that the individuals leave. Preceding the receipt of a Medicaid card, individuals receive a letter informing them that they have been approved for coverage and that they will receive related mailings with plan information; this letter also acts to confirm that the address for the individual is correct and will work for these future mailings.
Wisconsin: In November 2014, the DHS issued a memorandum developed in conjunction with the DOC that builds on the MOU between the two agencies and provides further detail about the roles and responsibilities of each. The operations memo describes new processes for accepting telephonic Medicaid applications from incarcerated individuals. The new policy allows individuals with explicit dates of release to apply for health coverage on or after the 20th day of the month prior to the month of the individual’s scheduled release date. This allows enough time for the Medicaid card to arrive at the correctional facility. Individuals are able to apply via phone and can telephonically sign the application. The memo also provides guidance to the DOC regarding the length of time permitted for the individual to complete the application via phone and for providing application assistance. Additionally, the memo eliminates the need to verify prison income for these applications being submitted by incarcerated individuals and it provides instructions for verifying certain eligibility information and issuing identification cards.
In terms of implementing the processes at the correctional facilities, the DOC recognized that their reentry social workers already had many tasks and so the department focused on implementing streamlined procedures with minimal staff involvement. Some facilities use the regular phone system but others have set up special conference rooms or call booths for greater privacy for individuals who are calling to apply for coverage. Also, the DOC indicated that there are ACA “site coordinators” at the correctional facilities who serve an important role in the internal implementation of the telephone enrollment processes at each facility and address any questions related to enrollment in health coverage.
In many states, health and corrections agencies fold enrollment processes into pre-release planning since health coverage to meet physical and behavioral health needs is important for ensuring an individual’s future success and reduces the chances for recidivism. This section of the toolkit highlights various state strategies to incorporate enrollment into pre-release planning.
Medicaid Enrollment Education/Training for Incarcerated Individuals



Single adults without dependents complete a paper application. The facility staff members are trained to send scanned applications to the DOC headquarters, where they are reviewed for any possible problems (e.g. an incorrect Social Security number, missing information, etc.) After this, DOC staff members at the headquarters manually enter the information into Medicaid’s enrollment system.

Application Assistance



During this part of the process, incarcerated individuals are also asked to fill out a medical release summary. Ohio screens every survey participant to identify individuals with complex health needs or indicators for complex health needs, referred to as “critical risk indicators” or CRIs. Individuals with CRIs have the opportunity to participate in a videoconference with a representative from a managed care plan selected by the individual prior to release. Together, the managed care plan and individual create a transition plan for that individual, scheduling doctor’s appointments, and organizing transportation and communication.
If an incarcerated individual is approved for Medicaid and signs onto a managed care plan, ODRC extracts the Medicaid card information and managed care plan card information, and scans both so that incarcerated individuals have both within their possession upon release.


Some states engage in outreach after justice-involved individuals return to their communities in order to enroll them in or maintain health coverage. For some states, this is in addition to pre-release enrollment activities, and in others, it is in place of pre-release planning efforts.
From our interviews, we found there are two main types of outreach: (1) activities within parole offices, and (2) mailings or phone calls conducted by state health and corrections agencies.
Parole Office


Justice-involved individuals have also received assistance at the Illinois Department of Corrections’ Summit of Hope events at various sites around the state. At a Summit of Hope, community organizations and social service agencies gather together to engage individuals in the reentry process and connect them with resources. The intent is to provide a smooth transition back into civilian life and to reduce recidivism. Get Covered Illinois has connected assister organizations with their local Summit of Hope events in order to conduct outreach and to enroll eligible individuals in health coverage on-site.

Mailings and Calls


States recognize that while enrolling justice-involved individuals into health coverage is important, the next crucial step is to facilitate access to both medical and behavioral health care for these individuals upon their release from incarceration. While most states have initially focused their efforts on implementing enrollment procedures, many are beginning to think about the next steps necessary to connect individuals to care. The following section outlines states’ efforts to promote access to care and help individuals reentering the community best utilize care.
Health Literacy Materials





Access to Care

In early 2015 the DOC hired specialized behavioral health parole coordinators to focus on helping individuals in need of more intensive support services upon release navigate the health care delivery system. These coordinators are licensed social workers located throughout the state, although due to capacity issues currently they are only serving a small number of individuals. They offer individuals intensive support services, provide them with information about how to best access behavioral health services, and assist with care coordination.
In the near future, the DOC plans to implement a new system to manage the health records of incarcerated individuals. The DOC anticipates that this will allow for case management services to begin as early as at the time of intake. State officials indicated that being able to start case management services earlier will make the overall process of connecting individuals to care after their release more streamlined and effective.



This section describes the importance of partnerships across agencies to facilitate the enrollment of justice-involved individuals, and highlights some of the states with particularly strong relationships between the Medicaid and corrections departments. During interviews with both Medicaid agencies and correctional authorities, state officials strongly emphasized that a key factor in effectively implementing enrollment efforts for the justice-involved population required close working relationships and support from the leadership of both departments. Additionally, some of the states interviewed indicated that relationships with community-based partners and other entities have also played an important role in implementing initial and follow-up enrollment processes, as well as improving access to care for the justice-involved population.


Additionally, staff from Get Covered Illinois indicated that one of the primary successes has been the establishment of relationships between community organizations serving as assisters and criminal justice entities. These new partnerships have helped to bring to the forefront the importance of connecting individuals reentering the community to health coverage.


During the initial planning phases, the state’s health agency also initiated weekly face-to-face meetings with parole workers, unified jail-prison system discharge planners, and DOC nurses to provide greater support to them, understand what was working and what was not working in terms of providing application assistance and outreach.
Additionally, representatives of insurance plans attended some of the meetings between the DOC and the Medicaid department to discuss issues such as promoting continuity of care for the newly enrolled justice-involved population and potential challenges associated with the plans in terms of handling a larger volume of clients. Both departments indicated that it was very helpful to include the insurance companies in some of the initial planning meetings. Connections with the insurance companies are still continuing to some degree, with some attending discharge planning services to talk about substance abuse issues.
Rhode Island has also included the Center for Prisoner Health and Human Rights at Brown University as a partner in these enrollment efforts. The DOC is working with the Center to train university students to assist with applications and conduct post-release follow up in terms of accessing services upon release from incarceration. The DOC also emphasized the importance of having developed partnerships with local mental health agencies and other community-based organizations that work with the justice-involved population, as these entities are able to assist with follow-up enrollment efforts.

In addition to the strong partnership between DHS and DOC, connections with local entities are also working well. Wisconsin’s Medicaid is locally based and eligibility offices are administered through groups of counties called consortia. While efforts to implement enrollment processes in local jails are in the early stages, DHS indicated that they have monthly meetings with the consortia to maintain effective communication channels, and the DOC has provided information to local jail administrators about possibilities for implementing more formalized enrollment procedures in these facilities. Both DHS and DOC indicated that because prior to the ACA many local jails would refer potentially eligible individuals reentering the community to connect with local income maintenance offices to apply for coverage, these existing community-based relationships provide a promising foundation to establish more formal local-level enrollment efforts.
Implementing processes to enroll justice-involved individuals in health coverage on a large scale is a new endeavor for states and their efforts are in the early stages. Given this, many states are currently working through various policy and operational challenges. The following are some examples of issues that states are planning to or are in the process of addressing to improve enrollment processes for the justice-involved population.






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Many individuals involved in the criminal justice system are now eligible for Medicaid in states that expanded the Medicaid program under the Affordable Care Act. Health coverage can provide individuals who are leaving incarceration with access to physical and behavioral health services critical to their successful reentry into the community. In some states, correctional agencies have partnered with Medicaid agencies to implement procedures to begin the Medicaid application process as individuals are nearing their incarceration release dates. This webinar features three states—Colorado, New Mexico and Wisconsin—that have initiated efforts to enroll justice-involved individuals in health coverage and explores some of the following questions:
- How are states developing procedures to enroll justice-involved individuals in Medicaid, and what types of policy or process changes have they implemented?
- What specific assistance is provided to incarcerated individuals who are enrolling in health coverage and how are applications processed?
- What strategies have been most successful for states, and what are some of the operational challenges that states are in the process of addressing?
- What types of interagency partnerships and coordination are needed to facilitate the enrollment of justice-involved individuals?
- How are states promoting access to care for the justice-involved population upon their release from incarceration?
The following is a compilation of related resources on the topic of the justice-involved population and health coverage.
Financing/Cost-Containment | ||
Medicaid Expansion and Criminal Justice Costs: Pre-Expansion Studies and Emerging Practices Point Toward Opportunities for States | State Health Reform Assistance Network | November 2015 |
Medicaid: Information on Inmate Eligibility and Federal Costs for Allowable Services | The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) | September 2014 |
Case Studies From Three States: Breaking Down Silos Between Health Care And Criminal Justice | Health Affairs | March 2014 |
Medicaid and Financing Health Care for Individuals Involved with the Criminal Justice System | The Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center | December 2013 |
Realizing the Potential of National Health Care Reform to Reduce Criminal Justice Expenditures and Recidivism Among Jail Populations | Community Oriented Correctional Health Services (COCHS) | January 2011 |
Enrollment Processes
Where
Where is enrollment conducted? | |
CO | At DOC’s central office; also Denver County jail |
IL | Enrollment education provided in correctional facilities; enrollment at various jails across the state and through the reentry process |
NM | In state prisons, two county jails and two state and county juvenile detention centers |
OH | In correctional facilities; prisons |
RI | In correctional facilities (state has a unified prison/jail system) |
WA | In correctional facilities; mostly prisons, some larger jails |
WI | In correctional facilities; mostly in prisons |
When
When is enrollment conducted? | |
CO | Prior to release |
IL | At intake in Cook County jail; prior to release in other jails and during reentry for the correctional population |
NM | Prior to release |
OH | 90-120 days prior to release, individuals can attend classes led by peer educators to learn about enrollment process |
RI | Prior to release, individuals are provided information and paper applications at group education classes |
WA | 90 days prior to release information is provided to individuals; 45-60 days prior to release applications are provided |
WI | Individuals with release dates can apply via phone on or after the 20th day of the month prior to the month of release |
Who
Who conducts enrollment? | |
CO | -Correctional facility case managers obtain signed permission forms from individuals which are sent to DOC central office -Nurse case managers at DOC central office complete applications |
IL | Primarily ACA in-person assisters or Certified Application Counselors |
NM | Corrections staff trained as presumptive eligibility (PE) determiners by Human Services Department |
OH | -Individuals complete forms and begin application process via phone; peer educators can assist -Each facility has a liaison who selects the peer educators and assists with overall process |
RI | -Brown University interns provide application assistance -Other assisters at probation offices/exit resource centers help individuals enroll |
WA | Trained staff at the correctional facilities assist individuals with completing the application |
WI | -Social workers facilitate calls for individuals facing challenges to successful application -ACA “site coordinators” at correctional facilities help with overall process |
How
How are applications processed? | |
CO | 2 nurse case managers at DOC central office complete and process applications electronically after receiving permission forms from facilities; data sent to HCPF |
IL | In-person assister submits applications and applications are processed by state Medicaid agency |
NM | All Medicaid applications filed by incarcerated individuals are processed by the Medical Assistance Division’s PE Applications Processing Unit |
OH | -Telephone call is to select managed care plan -Enrollment is completed when corrections department sends information to the Medicaid portal for an eligibility screen |
RI | Paper applications are hand carried by corrections staff to Medicaid agency |
WA | -Applications are scanned and sent to central office (DOC) -Information is entered into system 30 days prior to release |
WI | Through telephonic application process, which includes a telephonic signature |
Individuals leave facility w/ Medicaid card?
Individuals leave facility w/Medicaid card? | |
CO | Yes, generally; if not, then individuals are provided w/their Medicaid number and DOC nurse case manager phone number |
IL | No; eligibility results, paperwork and Medicaid cards are mailed to individuals’ addresses upon release |
NM | No; individuals are provided w/their Medicaid number and MCO contact numbers |
OH | -Yes; and Medicaid information included on release paperwork -Individuals with two or more risk factors have transition plans |
RI | No; eligibility determination is conducted after individual is released from incarceration |
WA | Yes, generally |
WI | Yes, generally |
This toolkit was made possible with support from the Jacob & Valeria Langeloth Foundation.