Counties want Medicaid coverage for inmates awaiting trial

"County officials and sheriffs from around the U.S. are ramping up an effort to press for changes to a federal policy that strips Medicaid coverage and other federal health care benefits from people who are in jail but who have not been convicted of crimes," Bill Lucia reports for Route Fifty. "Counties and their local taxpayers end up covering medical expenses for people locked up pretrial. But the federal government and states share the cost of people on Medicaid, which provides health coverage for low-income Americans."

The current policy, outlined in the Social Security Act, restricts the use of federal funds and services to provide medical care for inmates. That also includes funds from Department of Veterans Affairs programs, the Children's Health Insurance Program, which covers some pregnant women.

A task force on health care in jails, formed by the National Sheriffs' Association and the National Association of Counties, plans to lobby for change at the federal level. "Those involved in a new initiative focused on the issue say they’re not only concerned about money. The federal policy, they say, is also disruptive for the people it affects—who are disproportionately poor, minorities, or coping with mental illness and substance abuse," Lucia reports.