Beginning January 1, 2025, the Medicaid inmate exclusion policy will be partially waived for young people who are incarcerated. Benefits of this change include improved access to mental health and substance use disorder screening, diagnostics, and treatment; access to support the physical health care needs of returning young adults; and transitions from pre- to post-release.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued this guidance document to address the statutory requirements in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 (CAA, 2023) (P.L. 117- 328), which was signed into law on December 29, 2022. The CAA, 2023 includes two provisions impacting the availability of certain state plan services for incarcerated youth in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). The CAA, 2023 also includes another provision that modifies CHIP eligibility requirements for children who become incarcerated. All of these provisions are effective January 1, 2025.

The Bureau of Justice Assistance’s Second Chance Act training and technical assistance provider, the Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center, recently hosted a webinar discussing the impact of these changes. The recording, along with other relevant resources, can be found at https://csgjusticecenter.org/events/discussion-panel-supporting-young-adults-in-reentry-through-medicaid-funding/.