Prison staffers have no idea how long incoming prisoners’ sentences will end up being. Some may be just staying for a night, some for five years. Either way, they’ll need health care when they leave.
“It’s not a silver bullet,” Breit said. “But the sooner we get their application in, the sooner they get their cards.”
This transition isn’t quite as smooth in other states. Illinois has an advantage because it expanded its Medicaid program under Obamacare to include those with incomes just over the poverty level. But in other states that have rejected Medicaid expansion, it’s often impossible to offer returning citizens an affordable health care plan right out of prison.
Virginia, where GOP lawmakers have so far blocked expansion from taking effect, is one of those states. There, 191,000 uninsured adults would be eligible for Medicaid if the program were expanded. And according to former inmates, prisoners aren’t aware of this coverage gap until they’re leaving prison — when it’s too late.
“They won’t get any information about health care through the Department of Corrections,” said Richard Walker, founder of Bridging the Gap, an organization that helps restore former inmates’ civil rights. “And when they leave, most are under the impression that they aren’t eligible for anything. It takes a community group to inform them of their options.”
Walker, whose advice comes from his own experience behind bars, often visits inmates in state prisons to inform them of their rights they’ll gain after leaving. Part of that includes explaining the harsh gaps in health coverage.
“I try to provide them with as much [information] as I can,” he said. “But they have a lot of barriers to overcome. It’s a systemic problem.”
While conservative lawmakers in states opposed to Medicaid expansion typically say the program would financially drain the state, closing this gap could actually save state dollars that currently go toward covering housing and health care for people in prison. Untreated health issues, especially mental disorders, only nudge state recidivism rates higher. In a 2010 Connecticut study of prisoner recidivism rates, researchers found the rate for those with severe mental health disorders to be “significantly” higher than that of other prisoners.