Abstract
At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, legislators had the opportunity to either double-down, by reinforcing the inhumane conditions of confinement, or to employ public health systems to intervene in mass incarceration. The direction legislators chose is made clear by the 152,955 cases of coronavirus across prisons, as of October 20th. After months of advocates demanding justice-involved individuals and correctional facilities receive assistance in the COVID-19 stimulus bill, the newly revised House bill includes language from the bipartisan Medicaid Reentry Act. While this inclusion does not take federal action to protect individuals from COVID-19 while incarcerated, it takes a large step to improving public health systems ability to intercept reentering individuals. This is also the first time Congress has voted to recognize the opportunity for Medicaid to operate in the correctional environment. In recognizing this opportunity, Congress inadvertently is commenting on the issue of directing health care funding to the criminal legal system – currently a very divisive issue.
Published Version
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