A bipartisan bill sponsored on Aug. 10 by U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) would help guarantee that pre-trial detainees continue receiving Medicaid benefits prior to being found guilty of a crime.
“It saves money for taxpayers if somebody who’s currently on the right medicine for their conditions can stay on that medicine,” Sen. Cassidy said. “It costs taxpayers money if they stop the medicine, get sicker and then have to go through the whole process to get their condition controlled once more.”
Sen. Cassidy introduced the Due Process Continuity of Care Act, S. 2697, with original cosponsor U.S. Rep. Jeff Merkley (D-OR), to amend Medicaid Inmate Exclusion Policy (MIEP), which currently denies federal benefits to individuals who are incarcerated, including those found guilty of a crime and those held pending adjudication who are still presumed innocent, according to a bill summary provided by the lawmakers.
The denial of federal benefits without due process shifts the full financial burden of inmate health care to local jails and taxpayers, according to information provided by Sen. Cassidy’s office.
If enacted, S. 2697 also would provide $50 million in planning grant dollars for the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to award to states, which then could provide additional support to counties and local jails to implement the new law, the information says.
The bill, which has been endorsed by the National Association of Counties, Major County Sheriffs of America, and the National Sheriffs’ Association, is under consideration in the U.S. Senate Finance Committee.