II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 971 

To amend title XIX of the Social Security Act to remove the Medicaid 

coverage exclusion for inmates in custody pending disposition of charges, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 23, 2023 

Mr. CASSIDY (for himself, Mr. MERKLEY, Mr. MARKEY, and Mr. TILLIS) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance 

A BILL 

To amend title XIX of the Social Security Act to remove 

the Medicaid coverage exclusion for inmates in custody 

pending disposition of charges, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Due Process Con5 tinuity of Care Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. REMOVAL OF INMATE LIMITATION ON BENEFITS 

7 UNDER MEDICAID. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The subdivision (A) of section 

9 1905(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396d(a)) 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
2 

•S 971 IS

1 following the last numbered paragraph of such section is 

2 amended by inserting ‘‘, or, at the option of the State, 

3 while in custody pending disposition of charges’’ after ‘‘pa4 tient in a medical institution’’. 

5 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 5122 of 

6 division FF of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 

7 (Public Law 117–328) is amended— 

8 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘Medicaid’’ 

9 and all that follows through ‘‘Section 

10 1902(a)(84)(A)’’ and inserting ‘‘MEDICAID.—Sec11 tion 1902(a)(84)(A)’’; and 

12 (2) in subsection (c), by inserting ‘‘, except that 

13 if such date is later than the effective date described 

14 in section 2(c) of the Due Process Continuity of 

15 Care Act then the amendment made by subsection 

16 (a) shall take effect and apply to items and services 

17 furnished for periods beginning on or after the effec18 tive date described in such section’’ before the pe19 riod. 

20 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

21 subsections (a) and (b) shall take effect on the 1st day 

22 of the 1st calendar quarter that begins on or after the 

23 date that is 60 days after the date of the enactment of 

24 this Act and shall apply to items and services furnished 

25 for periods beginning on or after such date. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
3 

•S 971 IS

1 SEC. 3. PLANNING GRANTS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall award plan3 ning grants to States to support providing medical assist4 ance under the State Medicaid program to individuals who 

5 are eligible for such assistance as a result of the amend6 ment made by section 2(a). The grants shall be used to 

7 prepare an application that meets the requirements of sub8 section (b). 

9 (b) APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS.—In order to be 

10 awarded a planning grant under this section, a State shall 

11 submit an application to the Secretary at such time and 

12 in such form and manner as the Secretary shall require, 

13 that includes the following information along with such 

14 additional information, provisions, and assurances, as the 

15 Secretary may require: 

16 (1) A proposed process for carrying out each of 

17 the activities described in subsection (c) in the State. 

18 (2) A review of State policies regarding the 

19 population of individuals who are eligible for medical 

20 assistance under the State Medicaid program as a 

21 result of the amendment made by section 2(a) with 

22 respect to whether such policies may create barriers 

23 to increasing the number of health care providers 

24 who can provide items and services for that popu25 lation. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
4 

•S 971 IS

1 (3) The development of a plan, taking into ac2 count activities described in subsection (c)(2), that 

3 will ensure a sustainable number of Medicaid-en4 rolled providers under the State Medicaid program 

5 that can offer a full array of treatment and services 

6 to the patient population described in paragraph (2) 

7 as needed. Such plan shall include the following: 

8 (A) Specific activities to increase the num9 ber of providers that will offer physical health 

10 treatment, as well as services related to behav11 ioral health treatment, including substance use 

12 disorder treatment, recovery, or support serv13 ices (including short-term detoxification serv14 ices, outpatient substance use disorder services, 

15 and evidence-based peer recovery services). 

16 (B) Milestones and timeliness for imple17 menting activities set forth in the plan. 

18 (C) Specific measurable targets for in19 creasing the number of providers under the 

20 State Medicaid program who will treat the pa21 tient population described in paragraph (2). 

22 (4) An assurance that the State consulted with 

23 relevant stakeholders, including the State agency re24 sponsible for administering the State Medicaid pro25 gram, Medicaid managed care plans, health care 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
5 

•S 971 IS

1 providers, law enforcement personnel, officials from 

2 jails, and Medicaid beneficiary advocates, with re3 spect to the preparation and completion of the appli4 cation and a description of such consultation. 

5 (c) ACTIVITIES DESCRIBED.—For purposes of sub6 section (b)(1), the activities described in this subsection 

7 are the following: 

8 (1) Activities that support the development of 

9 an initial assessment of the health treatment needs 

10 of patients who are in custody pending disposition of 

11 charges to determine the extent to which providers 

12 are needed (including the types of such providers 

13 and geographic area of need) to improve the number 

14 of providers that will treat patients in custody pend15 ing disposition of charges under the State Medicaid 

16 program, including the following: 

17 (A) An estimate of the number of individ18 uals enrolled under the State Medicaid program 

19 who are in custody pending disposition of 

20 charges. 

21 (B) Information on the capacity of pro22 viders to provide treatment or services to such 

23 individuals enrolled under the State Medicaid 

24 program, including information on providers 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
6 

•S 971 IS

1 who provide such services and their participa2 tion under the State Medicaid program. 

3 (C) Information on the health care services 

4 provided under programs other than the State 

5 Medicaid program in jails to individuals who 

6 are in custody pending disposition of charges. 

7 (2) Activities that, taking into account the re8 sults of the assessment described in paragraph (1) 

9 with respect to the provision of treatment or services 

10 under the State Medicaid program, support the de11 velopment of State infrastructure to recruit or con12 tract with prospective health care providers, provide 

13 training and technical assistance to such providers, 

14 and secure a process for an electronic health record 

15 system for billing to reimburse for services provided 

16 by the correctional facility, outpatient providers, 

17 medical vendors, and contracted telehealth service 

18 providers to patients who are in custody pending dis19 position of charges that are compliant with applica20 ble requirements and regulations for State Medicaid 

21 programs. 

22 (3) Activities that ensure the quality of care for 

23 patients who are in custody pending disposition of 

24 charges, including formal reporting mechanisms for 

25 patient outcomes, and activities that promote parVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:21 Apr 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S971.IS S971

pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
7 

•S 971 IS

1 ticipation in learning collaboratives among providers 

2 treating this population. 

3 (d) GEOGRAPHIC DIVERSITY.—The Secretary shall 

4 select States for planning grants under this section in a 

5 manner that ensures geographic diversity. 

6 (e) FUNDING.—There are authorized to be appro7 priated $50,000,000 to carry out this section. 

8 (f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

9 (1) MEDICAID PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘Medicaid 

10 program’’ means, with respect to a State, the State 

11 program under title XIX of the Social Security Act 

12 (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.) including any waiver or 

13 demonstration under such title or under section 

14 1115 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1315) relating to such 

15 title. 

16 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

17 the Secretary of Health and Human Services. 

18 (3) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ has the mean19 ing given that term for purposes of title XIX of the 

20 Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.) in sec21 tion 1101(a)(1) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1301(a)(1)). 

Æ 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB