State agencies pushing Medicaid signups prior to prisoner release

Three Ohio agencies are aggressively pushing to get the majority of the roughly 21,000 people who are released from prison every year enrolled in Medicaid up to 90 days before they walk out the door (Source "State pushes Medicaid sign-ups for inmates,” Columbus Dispatch, July 27, 2015). 

Delays in getting medication and treatment are crucial because many people in Ohio prisons have mental-health and addiction issues, state officials said.

“This is aligned with our mission to reduce recidivism,” prisons chief Gary Mohr told The Dispatch. “I believe it will reduce the number of people returning to prison. Our investment is in communities, not prison. I’m not going to build another damn prison.”