Medicaid and Corrections
Recent Medicaid guidance and legislative developments offer new opportunities for correctional leaders to leverage Medicaid to enhance outcomes for people who are incarcerated. With the passage of the SUPPORT Act, the Consolidated Appropriations Acts of 2023 and 2024, and new guidance around the Medicaid Section 1115 Reentry Demonstration Opportunity, prisons and jails have more opportunities to work with their state Medicaid agencies to support individuals not only during incarceration but also during the critical transition from incarceration to the community.
This webpage provides a curated list of resources to support correctional leaders in taking full advantage of these new opportunities.
Medicaid Basics
- Medicaid Basics for Correctional Leaders and Agencies, The Council of State Governments Justice Center, January 2025
- Provides correctional leaders with a greater understanding of how Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program operate and explores opportunities for alignment between state Medicaid and correctional partners to leverage resources to improve outcomes for people returning to their communities from incarceration.
- Fact Sheet: Medicare & Medicaid Basics, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), June 2024
- Explains the Medicare and Medicaid programs and provides brief information on other types of health coverage.
- Webpage: Medicaid 101, Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission
- Provides broad overview of Medicaid, with links to learn more about eligibility, benefits, financing, provider payment and delivery systems, waivers, administration, and spending.
- Guide: Medicaid 101, Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF), May 28, 2024
- A chapter within KFF’s larger Health Policy 101 guide that serves as a resource for students and educators on health policy.
- Article: 10 Things to Know About Medicaid, KFF, June 30, 2023
- Discusses key things to know about Medicaid.
