HomeMy WebLinkAboutResolutions - 2023.07.20 - 40343
AGENDA ITEM: Supporting the Medicaid Reentry Act and the Due Process Continuity of Care Act to
Allow Continuous Medicaid Coverage for Pretrial Detainees in Local Jails
DEPARTMENT: Board of Commissioners
MEETING: Board of Commissioners
DATE: Thursday, July 20, 2023 6:00 PM - Click to View Agenda
ITEM SUMMARY SHEET
COMMITTEE REPORT TO BOARD
Resolution #2023-3128 _ 23-119
Motion to adopt the attached suggested resolution.
ITEM CATEGORY SPONSORED BY
Resolution Kristen Nelson, Gary McGillivray
INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND
Across America, the double standard created by the Medicaid Inmate Exclusion Policy (MIEP) is
putting undue strain on our local judicial, law enforcement, public safety and human services
systems. This error in legislation and federal policy results in higher rates of recidivism, increased
healthcare costs and poorer health outcomes for residents. This policy drives the over-incarceration
of those suffering from mental health and substance-use disorders, as county jails have become the
largest behavioral health facilities in the nation.
BUDGET AMENDMENT REQUIRED: No
Committee members can contact Michael Andrews, Policy and Fiscal Analysis Supervisor at
248.425.5572 or andrewsmb@oakgov.com, or the department contact persons listed for additional
information.
CONTACT
Kristen Nelson, Commissioner
ITEM REVIEW TRACKING
Aaron Snover, Board of Commissioners Created/Initiated - 7/21/2023
David Woodward, Board of Commissioners Approved - 7/21/2023
Lisa Brown, Clerk/Register of Deeds Final Approval - 7/21/2023
AGENDA DEADLINE: 08/02/2023 8:35 PM
ATTACHMENTS
None
COMMITTEE TRACKING
2023-07-11 Legislative Affairs & Government Operations - Recommend to Board
2023-07-20 Full Board - Adopt
Motioned by: Commissioner Robert Hoffman
Seconded by: Commissioner Angela Powell
Yes: David Woodward, Michael Spisz, Michael Gingell, Penny Luebs, Karen Joliat, Kristen
Nelson, Christine Long, Robert Hoffman, Philip Weipert, Gwen Markham, Angela Powell, Marcia
Gershenson, Janet Jackson, Charles Cavell, Brendan Johnson, Ajay Raman (16)
No: None (0)
Abstain: None (0)
Absent: Gary McGillivray, William Miller III, Yolanda Smith Charles (3)
Passed
July 20, 2023
RESOLUTION #2023-3128 _ 23-119
Sponsored By: Kristen Nelson, Gary McGillivray
Board of Commissioners - Supporting the Medicaid Reentry Act and the Due Process
Continuity of Care Act to Allow Continuous Medicaid Coverage for Pretrial Detainees in Local
Jails
Chair and Members of the Board:
WHEREAS counties are required by federal law to provide adequate health care for approximately
10.6 million individuals who pass through 3,100 local jails each year with an average length of stay of
25 days; and
WHEREAS counties nationwide annually invest $176 billion in community health systems and justice
and public safety services, including the entire cost of medical care for all arrested and detained
individuals; and
WHEREAS Medicaid is the single largest source of funding for behavioral health services in the
United States, and the number of inmates who are eligible for health coverage has increased as more
states have accepted Medicaid expansion; and
WHEREAS more than 95 percent of prisoners eventually return to the community, bringing their
health conditions with them; and
WHEREAS in many states, federal benefits are completely terminated instead of being suspended,
and it can take months for former inmates to reenroll and regain their benefits following reentry; and
WHEREAS saving access to federal health benefits while awaiting trial and presumed innocent aligns
with an individual’s constitutional rights; and
WHEREAS access to federal health benefits for non-convicted individuals would allow for improved
coordination of care, and also decrease short-term costs to local taxpayers and long-term costs to the
federal government; and
WHEREAS providing access to federal health benefits for those awaiting trial and verdict decisions
would help counties break the cycle of recidivism caused or exacerbated by untreated mental illness
and/or substance-use disorders, thereby improving public safety.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Oakland County Board of Commissioners supports
the Medicaid Reentry Act and the Due Process Continuity of Care Act to allow continuous Medicaid
coverage for pretrial detainees in local jails.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Board of Commissioners understands how harmful the
Medicate Inmate Exclusion Policy, outlined under Section 1905(a)(A) of the Social Security Act, is by
making no distinction between individuals housed in jails versus prisons, and thus unfairly denies or
revokes federal health benefits for adults and juveniles that are being housed in local jails prior to
conviction.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Oakland County Clerk/Register of Deeds is requested to
forward copies of this adopted resolution to the United States Secretary for the Health and Human
Services, to the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of
Representatives, members of the Michigan congressional delegation and the Michigan Association of
Counties.
Chair, the following Commissioners are sponsoring the foregoing Resolution: Kristen Nelson, Gary
McGillivray.
Date: July 21, 2023
David Woodward, Commissioner
Date: July 21, 2023
Lisa Brown, County Clerk / Register of Deeds
COMMITTEE TRACKING
2023-07-11 Legislative Affairs & Government Operations - Recommend to Board
2023-07-20 Full Board - Adopt
Motioned by Commissioner Robert Hoffman seconded by Commissioner Angela Powell to adopt the
attached Resolution: Supporting the Medicaid Reentry Act and the Due Process Continuity of Care
Act to Allow Continuous Medicaid Coverage for Pretrial Detainees in Local Jails.
Yes: David Woodward, Michael Spisz, Michael Gingell, Penny Luebs, Karen Joliat, Kristen Nelson,
Christine Long, Robert Hoffman, Philip Weipert, Gwen Markham, Angela Powell, Marcia
Gershenson, Janet Jackson, Charles Cavell, Brendan Johnson, Ajay Raman (16)
No: None (0)
Abstain: None (0)
Absent: Gary McGillivray, William Miller III, Yolanda Smith Charles (3)
Passed
ATTACHMENTS
None
STATE OF MICHIGAN)
COUNTY OF OAKLAND)
I, Lisa Brown, Clerk of the County of Oakland, do hereby certify that the foregoing resolution is a true
and accurate copy of a resolution adopted by the Oakland County Board of Commissioners on July
20, 2023, with the original record thereof now remaining in my office.
In Testimony Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the seal of the Circuit Court at
Pontiac, Michigan on Thursday, July 20, 2023.
Lisa Brown, Oakland County Clerk / Register of Deeds