Please fill out the below form to sign your New York-based organization onto the below letter asking Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to support continued inclusion of the Medicaid Reentry Act in the Build Back Better reconciliation package moving through Congress. Please email Gabrielle de la Guéronnière (
gdelagueronniere@lac-dc.org) with any questions. Deadline for sign-on is COB Tuesday, October 12th. Thank you!!
October 12, 2021
The Honorable Charles Schumer
Majority Leader
United States Senate
U.S. Capitol Building, Room S-221
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Majority Leader Schumer:
We, the undersigned New York organizations, write to express our strong support for the federal Medicaid Reentry Act and for its continued inclusion in the Build Back Better reconciliation package moving through Congress. The Medicaid Reentry Act is bipartisan, bicameral legislation essential to strengthening reentry outcomes, improving individual and public health, and promoting greater racial justice and equity in New York and around the county. The legislation also would provide New York and other states and localities with critically needed resources as jurisdictions continue to face the significant financial burden associated with COVID-19. As the Senate moves toward consideration of the Build Back Better Act, we urge you to include the Medicaid Reentry Act in the final reconciliation package.
The Medicaid Reentry Act was born in New York, with work beginning in 2008 to enroll incarcerated individuals in Medicaid prior to release and to create linkages to care in the community upon reentry. This work culminated in 2016 with submission of New York’s first-of-its kind Medicaid waiver application requesting payment for transitional care during the last 30 days of incarceration; both "blue" and "red" states ranging from Utah to Kentucky to California have since endorsed the concept of Medicaid Reentry and have sought approval to use federal Medicaid dollars to support access to medical care and reentry planning prior to release from incarceration. Congressman Paul Tonko (D-NY) authored the federal Medicaid Reentry Act as a result of New York’s pioneering work. The bill enjoys strong, diverse support around the country and in New York as is demonstrated by the impressive list of endorsing organizations listed below.
Increasing access to health care to all Medicaid-eligible people preparing to leave incarceration is particularly critical now amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and the skyrocketing mental health and overdose crises. People reentering the community are 129 percent more likely to die from a drug overdose and are at significantly higher risk to die by suicide. Untreated mental health and substance use disorders are a significant driver of the overrepresentation of Black and Brown people in jails and prisons. Strengthening people’s access to quality community-based health care upon reentry would foster racial justice and equity by improving Black and Brown people’s health outcomes and reducing rates of re-involvement with the criminal legal system. Allowing for Medicaid coverage just prior to release also would reduce the use and costs of emergency departments, hospitalizations, and other medical expenses connected to health care needs upon reentry.
Enacting the Medicaid Reentry Act would represent an important step toward meeting the urgent health care needs of people whose return to the community from incarceration is imminent. This critical legislation would strengthen health and public safety outcomes both in New York and nationwide. We urge you to work to ensure that the Medicaid Reentry Act remains in the Build Back Better reconciliation package. Thank you for your attention to these important issues, and please contact Gabrielle de la Guéronnière (
gdelagueronniere@lac-dc.org) with any questions.
Sincerely,
[List of Signatories]
