Implications of the Affordable Care Act for the Justice-Involved and Criminal Justice System

Counties across California - from Los Angeles, home to the largest jail system in the United States, to small, rural counties - are piloting a diverse set of strategies and models to leverage Affordable Care Act opportunities to increase public safety and reduce costs. A 2013 state law directs counties to process new Medicaid applications from inmates and to suspend, not terminate, Medicaid benefits for those who are already enrolled who are booked into jail. Public safety agencies are collaborating with health and social services agencies and community partners to enroll county jail and probation populations and connect them to treatment. In addition to improving community health, these efforts are aimed at addressing jail populations pressures, recidivism, and spiraling jail health care costs. 

This presentation will highlight the range of models being piloted across California, some preliminary outcomes as well as ongoing challenges, including fostering a “culture of coverage” amongst populations that may distrust government and the health care system, creating better linkages and information sharing between the justice system, health and social services, and community providers, and ensuring that individuals are not just enrolled in health coverage, but actually access needed treatment after enrollment.