SJC Exchange Library

A new Prison Policy Initiative report called How a Medicare rule that ends financial burdens for the incarcerated leaves some behind explains how many incarcerated people who became eligible for Medicare while still locked up have faced an unenviable choice: either pay for Medicare coverage they couldn't use (since Medicare does not provide coverage for any healthcare services provided in prison), or pay increasingly higher premiums for the rest of their lives once released. While this rule changed in November 2022, meaning that people locked up when they become eligible for Medicare will not have to enroll before their release from prison anymore, the old rules are still forcing many formerly incarcerated people who did not enroll in Medicare while locked up to pay a fee on their healthcare premiums for the rest of their lives.

PPI's new report is targeted at policymakers, but also includes a section explaining what currently incarcerated people and their loved ones need to know about the recent rule change.