Suspension of Medicaid for inmates proposed

The Health and Human Services Committee heard testimony Jan. 28 on a bill that would suspend Medicaid assistance to an eligible individual who enters a public institution as an inmate.

Omaha Sen. Bob Krist, introducer of LB12, said the bill would follow the general practice under federal law of suspending, rather than terminating, an inmate’s Medicaid assistance while he or she is incarcerated.

Krist said that if eligibility were suspended rather than terminated, an eligible inmate who is placed in an outside facility for more than 24 hours could have that care paid for with Medicaid funds.

“I think this is a common-sense approach to not spending tax dollars out of the general fund to provide those services,” he said.

Under the bill, suspension would last until the individual was released from the public institution or one year after the date that he or she became an inmate, whichever was sooner.

Molly McCleery of Nebraska Appleseed testified in support of the bill, saying the state should take advantage of the opportunity to obtain federal reimbursement for care under the 24-hour rule. She said North Carolina began billing Medicaid under the rule in 2011 and saved an estimated $10 million.

“LB12 creates the opportunity for significant financial savings for our state,” McCleery said.

Frederick Echternacht, a physician and former medical director of the Hastings Regional Center, also testified in support of the bill.

Inmates often have behavioral and mental health issues, he said, and interruptions in care exacerbate those conditions. For example, he said, a lapse in care may result when an inmate must reapply for Medicaid upon release—possibly increasing the likelihood of re-incarceration.

“If you don’t have continuity of care, the patient is going to deteriorate and your health care costs are going to go higher,” Echternacht said.

No one testified in opposition to the bill and the committee took no immediate action on it.