County Jails and the Affordable Care Act

With what some are calling complicated and a split decision, the only sure thing is that legal pundits and the media will be sorting out the recent U.S. Supreme Court's ruling to uphold the Affordable Care Act for months to come. This far-reaching decision will affect all aspects of the Nation, including local correctional agencies — jails and detention facilities. The National Association of Counties (NACo) has produced a publication that examines how counties can be involved in enrolling individuals held in county jails who become newly eligible for health insurance coverage in 2014 through the Affordable Care Act. This document, titled County Jails and the Affordable Care Act: Enrolling Eligible Individuals in Health Coverage, examines ways that counties may be involved in eligibility determination and enrollment processes for these newly eligible individuals, focusing particularly on issues related to enrolling qualified individuals held in county jails as pre-adjudicated detainees and inmates preparing to re-enter the community. Specifically the document assesses some of the potential issues and challenges county jail and human services staff may face in terms of enrollment procedures. The brief also highlights examples of existing county-based enrollment strategies that may be able to serve as models for developing processes to enroll individuals in county jails who become newly eligible for health insurance coverage in 2014.