Ed Markey — Senators Markey

thank you so much for being here today thank you to my colleague senator Al Franken from the great state of Minnesota and to Sheriff Richard static Hennepin County Minnesota along with of my great sheriff of Middlesex County in Massachusetts Peter Koutoujian sheriff contusion has been a strong leader in my state advocating for common-sense healthcare policies for inmates he understands that law enforcement is equal parts accountability and compassion and I thank him for everything he is doing to ensure up positive outcomes fathers population there are nearly 2.3 million inmates in the United States that's a shocking number of people in prison in this country we lock up more people than any other country in the world our accosting rate reflects the failed policies of the past the notion that we could imprison our way out of our nation's drug abuse epidemic of the 2.3 million individuals incarcerated in US prisons 85% either have a prior auth present substance use disorder are committed a crime that was related to their substance use if we are to stop the revolving door of criminal of our criminal justice system and reduce the rates of opioid overdoses in this country we need a seismic shift in how we deal with this population and their health care needs first Medicaid policies for pretrial individuals are discriminatory today if you are arrested and cannot afford bail you can be denied critical health services paid for by Medicaid even though you have not been trying or been convicted continuing to access healthcare coverage is not for those who can make veil off who are on private insurance this inequality in health coverage for pretrial detainees results in gaps of treatment you may be innocent until proven guilty but you will also be uninsured because pretrial inmates most in need of immediate medical services denying access to Medicaid benefits can be an extreme financial burden for local counties because day other ones who pick up the tab for critical and immediate health services as we will hear from our sheriff's today second the first two weeks after release from custody individuals are particularly vulnerable to drug use compared with the general population they have a 129 fold increase in the risk of death from openings with health insurance inmates discharged to the community can access treatment programs that may offer effective therapies for addiction and other medical conditions including a mental illness that may exacerbate a substance abuse disorder however even when people enter custody with Medicaid coverage 38 states and the District of Columbia routinely terminate this coverage upon incarceration or detainees Medicaid termination is not required by federal law of me repeat up Medicaid termination is not required by federal law in fact the Obama administration has encouraged States to cease this practice the result of this clerical choice to terminate Medicaid can we get estate upon discharge individuals need to reapply for Medicaid in order to access health care services a process that may take as long as 90 days those 90 days can be the difference in a path towards wellness or a path back into the system disruptions in the continuity of medical care have been shown to increase rates of reincarnation drug use recidivism and mortality furthermore without health care many rely on hospital emergency room services shifting the full cost of medical treatment to local city county and state agencies the legislation which senator Franken and I have introduced supporting positive outcomes after release Act prohibits States from terminating eligible individuals Medicaid because of incarceration instead with coverage only temporarily suspended it ensures access to health care services more quickly upon release this would allow for a smoother re-entry transition and encourage continuation of care for substance use disorders and other health conditions as we do back this latest drug epidemic the federal government must now admit the grave mistakes of the war on drugs and apologize for the wrongs done to the generation of Americans who bore the brunt of failed policies and we must commit to never letting it happen again now is the time to implement appropriate and common-sense solutions we need two distinct regice not criminalize drug use and mental illness we need more compassion not more incarceration great senator ted kennedy said health care is a right and not a privilege we should ensure this holds true for all Americans no matter if you are waiting trial behind bars are on your way back into yummy so I want to thank everyone who is here today creating this partnership and the fight to ensuring that all have access to the health care they even those in the criminal justice system so let me turn now and