As this report from The Health and Reentry Project (HARP) discusses, the unprecedented and growing rates of overdose deaths in the U.S. have brought new attention to policies that would increase access to opioid use disorder (OUD) services; in particular, medications for OUD (MOUD) for individuals who are incarcerated. The report's authors argue that people with OUD who are incarcerated could greatly benefit from treatment with MOUD, but historically, very few receive it. Further, they contend that allowing Medicaid to cover OUD services provided in prisons and jails could expand access to OUD services for individuals who are incarcerated.

This report recommends a set of services and standards of care for Medicaid coverage of OUD services in prisons and jails, comparable to standards for Medicaid-covered OUD services in the community, with the programmatic standards presented in two types: (1) standards that jails and prisons are required to provide to qualify for Medicaid coverage, and (2) standards that jails and prisons should have but are not required to have to qualify for Medicaid coverage. 

This report is intended to inform a wide range of health and criminal justice policymakers and stakeholders. The primary audience is state Medicaid program administrators and administrators who oversee health service provision in prisons and jails.