Ohio Medicaid Expansion Projected To Cut Prison Health Care Costs By $18 Million In 2014

Ohio is expanding Medicaid in 2014 to low-income uninsured adults not otherwise eligible for Medicaid and as a result, state prison health care costs are expected to drop by $18 million. Since 2009, the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (DRC) has had a procedure to quickly suspend and reinstate Medicaid eligibility for incarcerated offenders needing off-site inpatient care. However, many inmates did not qualify for Medicaid under Ohio’s previous eligibility criteria. DRC is now working with the state Medicaid agency to develop a formal enrollment process for ex-offenders reentering the community. About 95% of the . . .