2019 State HIT Connect Summit

Access to medical care for individuals released from incarceration can be a slow-moving and difficult to navigate process. For those individuals with no insurance coverage in effect when they leave a jail or prison, immediate access to care is even further out of reach.

In-an-effort to reduce recidivism and provide immediate access to care upon release, the New Mexico Human Services Department has developed the Justice-involved Utilization of State- Transitioned Healthcare (JUST Health) program. The JUST Health program allows HSD to suspend, rather than terminate, benefits for incarcerated individuals. Upon release, benefits are reinstated which allows the Medicaid enrollee immediate access to services, including substance abuse treatment, pharmaceutical benefits and care coordination activities.

This session will outline the evolution of the JUST Health program and will include information on the policy changes and legislative initiatives that were necessary for implementation. It will also look at the data sharing and technology hurdles and successes the program has encountered, as well as the planned technology initiatives that will help the program move even further along.