HARTFORD — Connecticut has received federal approval to cover selected health services before eligible people leave correctional facilities, creating a bridge to treatment as they return to their communities.
The state’s November 6 announcement highlights a 60-day coverage window. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ November 5 approval letter specifies up to 60 days before release from jails and prisons and up to 90 days from youth correctional facilities.
The next step is implementation. The renewed demonstration is approved for April 1, 2027, through March 31, 2032. Connecticut must submit an implementation plan for federal approval within 120 days of the reentry initiative’s approval, and participating facilities must meet readiness requirements. Approval does not mean the new services are available at every facility today.
The approved benefits include case management, substance-use treatment with medication and counseling when clinically appropriate, medical visits, diagnostic tests and prescribed drugs. The package also provides a clinically appropriate 30-day supply of prescribed medications immediately upon release.
Eligibility depends on Medicaid or Children’s Health Insurance Program requirements. Adults 21 and older must also meet specified health or population criteria, including mental illness, substance-use disorders, certain chronic or significant conditions, disability, pregnancy or the first year after pregnancy. Children under 21 and former foster youth under 26 do not face an additional health-related test under the approval.
The Department of Social Services will lead the initiative with correctional, behavioral-health, child-welfare and judicial agencies, the governor’s office said. The federal terms require enrollment assistance at participating facilities and prohibit implementation procedures from delaying anyone’s release.
The approval also continues federal reimbursement for eligible residential and inpatient substance-use treatment under Connecticut’s existing demonstration, which began in April 2022. That renewal is separate from the new prerelease coverage.