Ohio is one of multiple states trying to help prisoners enroll into Medicaid when they become ill and as they complete their sentence, according to a report by The Cincinnati Enquirer.
It is anticipated that up to 95 percent of the roughly 20,000 prisoners released every year in Ohio will be eligible for Medicaid, Stuart Hudson, managing director of healthcare for the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, told the publication.
Mr. Hudson said in the report his goal is to have a formal enrollment process in place for prisoners as they're released within the next couple months.
In the short term, the initiative could save Ohio almost $18 million this year in costs of providing healthcare to prisoners, prison and healthcare officials told The Cincinnati Enquirer. However, benefits in the longer term could include less repeat offenders as more former prisoners get access to resources they need, such as mental health services and substance abuse programs, officials said in the report.
Maeghan Gilmore, director of health and human services for the National Association of Counties, told The Cincinnati Enquirer that a number of states, such as Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota and Oregon, are pursuing similar efforts.
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