By skyforbes 
Congressional Communities is featuring one Congressional Research Service (CRS) article per day in effort to share with our readers the wealth of information that the CRS makes readily available.
Today’s featured CRS article, “Medicaid and Incarcerated Individuals,” discusses under what circumstances incarcerated individuals are eligible to healthcare through Medicaid.
Because Medicaid is prohibited from providing funding for healthcare for an “inmate of a public institution,” the report provides detail on what, legally, counts as an “inmate” or “public institution,” in order to better clarify who qualifies for Medicaid payments for health services and who does not. Furthermore, specific situations wherein an inmate would be able to qualify for Medicaid payments for treatment are also outlined — as is the ability for states to suspend an incarcerated individual’s enrollment in Medicaid. How these rules apply to juveniles is briefly covered, as well.
This article falls under the issue area of Crime and Law Enforcement and Health. From the CRS:
Medicaid is a joint federal-state means-tested entitlement program that finances the delivery of primary and acute medical services, as well as long-term services and supports, for a diverse low-income population. States that operate their programs within broad federal rules are entitled to federal Medicaid matching funds. […]
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA; P.L. 111–48, as amended), and a subsequent Supreme Court decision (National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius), made it optional for states to expand Medicaid coverage to non-elderly adults with income up to 133% of the federal poverty level beginning in 2014. In states that expanded Medicaid, many individuals transitioning into and out of incarceration — a population that tends to have higher rates of substance use disorder, mental illness, and chronic disease than the general population — were eligible for Medicaid for the first time. This In Focus describes how incarceration can impact the availability of federal Medicaid payment and an individual’s Medicaid coverage.
Interested readers can find the full article here.