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An Act To Clarify and Affirm Medicaid Eligibility for Incarcerated Individuals
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 22 MRSA §3174-CC, as enacted by PL 2001, c. 659, Pt. B, §1, is repealed and the following enacted in its place:
§ 3174-CC. Medicaid eligibility during incarceration
The department shall establish procedures to ensure that:
 
1.  Coverage prior to incarceration; reapplying for coverage.     A person receiving federally approved Medicaid services prior to incarceration does not lose Medicaid eligibility as a result of that incarceration and receives assistance with reapplying for benefits if that person's Medicaid coverage expires during the term of incarceration; and
 
2.  Applying for coverage after incarceration.     A person who is not receiving federally approved Medicaid services prior to incarceration but meets the eligibility requirements for Medicaid receives assistance with applying for federally approved Medicaid services.
The provisions of this section apply even if Medicaid coverage is limited during the period of incarceration. The department shall provide Medicaid coverage for treatment received outside a correctional facility, including retroactive coverage, as long as, at the time treatment is provided, the incarcerated person is eligible for Medicaid. Nothing in this section requires or permits the department to maintain an incarcerated person's Medicaid eligibility if the person no longer meets eligibility requirements.
 
SUMMARY
This bill clarifies current law regarding Medicaid eligibility for incarcerated individuals to ensure that individuals who are eligible for Medicaid coverage are able to renew their coverage while they are incarcerated and also establishes a mechanism to ensure that individuals who are uninsured and eligible for Medicaid coverage are able to apply for coverage while they are incarcerated. The bill also requires the Department of Health and Human Services to provide Medicaid coverage for treatment received by an incarcerated person outside a correctional facility as long as, at the time treatment is provided, the person is eligible for Medicaid.