Corrections staff should review each individual's history of access to and eligibility for a broad range of state and federal benefits. Such benefits can include, but are not limited to, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), Medicaid, Medicare, veterans' benefits, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and educational benefits under the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) or other statutes. When a person has been receiving entitlements prior to intake at the correctional facility, corrections staff may be able to facilitate the continued receipt of those benefits by family members who are dependent on them. In other cases, corrections staff can assist the individual in applying for a suspension (rather than a termination) of benefits. This administrative action helps to ensure prompt restoration of benefits upon the individual's release. (See Policy Statement 24, Identification and Benefits, for more on connecting and re-connecting inmates to benefits.) State Medicaid directors have been officially encouraged to increase this practice by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

Example: Interim Incarceration Disenrollment Policy, Lane County (OR)

At the request of Lane County officials, the state of Oregon adopted the Interim Incarceration Disenrollment Policy for individuals detained for short periods. This policy specifies that individuals cannot be disenrolled from their health plan during their first 14 days of incarceration, during which the state makes the Medicaid payments. In addition, Lane County officials developed a relationship with the local application-processing agency for Medicaid and Social Security Insurance. Now, the application process for those individuals who did not have benefits prior to incarceration or whose incarceration period lasts longer than 14 days can begin while the detainee is still in custody.