Using the Affordable Care Act to Increase Healthcare Access for Inmates and Probationers

About the Program

Category: Health (Best in Category)

Year: 2015

Counties in California have various responsibilities including ensuring public safety through the Probation and Sheriff’s Departments, as well as providing access to safety net services such as healthcare coverage and other forms of assistance. The County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA), Probation and Sheriff’s Departments joined together in a unique partnership to address access to healthcare and rising costs for Sheriff’s inmates and offenders supervised by Probation. Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), expanded Medicaid (Medi-Cal-California), the partnership entailed implementing a program to embed County Eligibility Workers at Sheriff’s detention sites and Probation supervision offices. The program included forming a centralized Eligibility Unit for pre-release inmates and those on Probation, to expedite enrollment into the Medi-Cal program. This allowed for greater access to healthcare benefits and reduced local costs. As part of the program, HHSA applied for and received a State grant for Medi-Cal Outreach and Enrollment assistance to deploy contracted Medi-Cal outreach workers to additional Sheriff Detention and Probation sites across San Diego County.