Medicaid should cover hospital-based community violence prevention programs for gunshot patients and other violently injured victims enrolled in Medicaid, according to an op-ed published on amNY.
The op-ed was written by New York state Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal; state Assembly Member Jessica González-Rojas; Jamar Williams, co-executive director of the Kings Against Violence Initiative in New York City, and Rebecca Fischer, executive director of New Yorkers Against Gun Violence.
Being a victim or witness of gun violence nearly doubles a young person's chance of perpetrating violence themselves within two years, according to the op-ed. Meanwhile, community violence prevention programs connect individuals affected by violence with professionals while they are hospitalized. One study of more than 500 15- to 24-year-olds admitted to a New York City trauma center found the prevention programs increased follow-up medical appointments by 2.29 times and reduced violent reinjury by more than 50 percent in three months following hospital admission.
President Joe Biden has asked states to direct Medicaid funding to these prevention services, but so far only California, Connecticut and Illinois have done so, according to the article. Mr. Hoylman-Sigal and Ms. González-Rojas are sponsoring a bill that could add New York to the list of states funding prevention.
"We already have the tools to reduce violence," the authors wrote. "We have the organizations with community trust. We just need to pay them to do their jobs."