house resolution no.93
Reps. Vaupel, Liberati, Frederick, Marino and Wakeman offered the following resolution:
Whereas, The Federal Medicaid Inmate Exclusion Policy (MIEP) prohibits the payment of federal Medicaid matching dollars for medical services provided to prison inmates. Medicaid will only cover the care an inmate receives in an inpatient hospital or medical institution; and
Whereas, Incarcerated individuals have been ineligible for Medicaid since the inception of the program in 1965. National prison populations have risen exponentially over the past several decades from approximately 200,000 when Medicaid began to over a million in county jails and state prisons currently; and
Whereas, The MIEP places a tremendous financial burden on states, counties, and local communities as hundreds of millions of dollars are spent annually for health care services provided in jails and prisons. Inmate health issues run the gamut from mental illness to chronic diseases, including diabetes, hypertension, kidney failure, and cancer. Furthermore, the health complexities of aging inmates increase health care costs; and
Whereas, The repeal of or a federal waiver from the exclusionary provision of MIEP would enable states and counties to seek federal matching funds for Medicaid-covered services. Furthermore, states that have expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act would be reimbursed for at least 90 percent of their spending on prison health care; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives, That we urge the Congress of the United States to repeal the Medicaid Inmate Exclusion Policy to allow prison inmates to be eligible for Medicaid coverage or allow states to seek a waiver from the law; and be it further
Resolved, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, and the members of the Michigan congressional delegation.