Transforming Jail Reentry through Medicaid Reentry Waiver: Key Findings from 11 California Counties
As of September 2024, 23 states and D.C. have either received approval or submitted applications for Medicaid reentry waivers, setting the stage for significant reforms in reentry health care nationwide. In January 2023, California became the first state in the nation to implement this work, receiving approval from the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for a Medicaid Section 1115 demonstration request to amend Medicaid’s inmate exclusion.
California’s waiver, called California’s Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal (CalAIM), and the specific component focused on individuals who are transitioning out of the criminal justice system, the Justice Involved (JI) initiative, will for the first time provide a targeted set of Medicaid-covered services right before someone is released from prison or jail. These services aim to smooth reentry transitions from jail and prison to the community, establish better connections to community-based providers at release, and enhance access to necessary care and support.
With support from the MacArthur Foundation's Safety and Justice Challenge (SJC), a new report from Justice System Partners (JSP) and the Health and Reentry Project (HARP) provides crucial policy and operational insights from 11 California counties involved in SJC's California Network. This report details the challenges, potential solutions, and the impact on reentry healthcare services.
Read more on the SJC Blog.
Presenters:
- Kimberly Richards, Justice System Partners (moderator)
- Lore Joplin, Justice System Partners
- Maureen McDonnell, TASC’s Center for Health & Justice
- Margot Cronin-Furman, Health and Reentry Project