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CMS Announces Care Continuity State Planning Grants for Incarcerated Individuals

October 1, 2024
Kate Kelly

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on Sept. 27 released a grant opportunity for state Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program agencies to promote continuity of care for individuals who are inmates of a public institution. This includes prisons; local, tribal, and county jails; and youth correctional or detention facilities.

CMS will award up to 56 recipients, with $106.5 million total available funds. The anticipated range of awards is $1–⁠5 million per recipient over a total four-year performance period.

The application deadlines are:

  • Cohort 1: Nov. 26, by 11:59 pm ET
  • Cohort 2: March 17, 2025, by 11:59 pm ET

This comes after Congress passed the Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA), 2024 that included several changes related to Medicaid for incarcerated people. In addition to funding these state planning grants, the CAA requires that, beginning Jan. 1, 2026, states suspend instead of terminating Medicaid coverage for incarcerated individuals. CMS also must release guidance on best practices and strategies for implementation challenges.

Contact Director of Policy Rob Nelb, MPH, at rnelb@essentialhospitals.org or 202.585.0127 with questions.

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