NCJ Number
246716
Journal
Health Affairs Volume: 33 Issue: 3 Dated: March 2014 Pages: 443-447
Date Published
March 2014
Length
5 pages
Annotation
This article discusses the need for improving access to health care for jail-involved individuals.
Abstract
Current research indicates that a significant number of individuals that pass through the Nation's jails have high rates of infectious and chronic disease as well as substance use and mental illness, and that their only source of health care is through the criminal justice system. This article discusses the need for improving access to health care for these jail-involved individuals and offers eight policy recommendations for improving the continuum of care. These recommendations are: 1) divert people, particularly those with mental health and substance use problems, to supportive health services in the community as alternatives to incarceration; 2) use jails as enrollment sites for detainees who are eligible to receive health coverage; 3) improve the gap between jails and health care providers in the community; 4) improve Medicaid benefit packages to cover the needs of the jail-involved population; 5) assessing and supporting the capacity of the local delivery system to meet the needs of the jail-involved population; 6) educating jail-involved persons on how to maintain their health and access health care services in the community; 7) design inmate reentry programs to connect people with the health care services they will need in the community; and 8) conduct additional research into the healthcare needs of the jail-involved population and find cost-effective ways to meet those needs. The article also discusses the potential impacts that the Affordable Care Act can have on the healthcare needs of the jail-involved population. 20 notes