Dive Brief:
- Jailers in San Francisco are enrolling County Jail inmates in ACA policies newly available since January 1.
- The Department of Public Health believes inmates with health insurance will be less likely to re-offend upon release. For example, they'll be able to seek services like addiction treatment, which can reduce the incidence of criminal behavior.
- Roughly 90% of the inmates at County Jail are eligible for health insurance under the ACA.
Dive Insight:
Enrolling inmates in the hopes that healthcare access will reduce criminal behavior is an intriguing strategy. It will be very interesting to see whether having better access to healthcare will actually lower the rate of repeated incarcerations criminal behavior. My guess is that their efforts will pay off.