From JD Supra: “There is growing momentum among states to develop innovative models to help people involved with the justice system (i.e., justice-involved individuals) receive health care services covered by Medicaid while they are incarcerated. By providing services before people are released, including care management to plan for reentry, states are hoping they can improve health outcomes when individuals return to their communities.
Individuals leaving incarceration—mainly people of color—are particularly at risk for poor health outcomes. Justice-involved individuals have disproportionately higher rates of physical and behavioral health diagnoses and are at higher risk for injury and death as a result of overdose and suicide than are people who have never been incarcerated. Nearly two-thirds (64%) of individuals in jail and more than half (54%) of individuals in state prisons report a mental health concern. This contributes to a high risk of death following release, with one study showing that during the first two weeks after release from state prison, the risk of death was 12.7 times that of other state residents.”
