I 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3123 

To ensure prompt access to Supplemental Security Income, Social Security 

disability, and Medicaid benefits for persons released from certain public 

institutions. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 18, 2013 

Mr. CARSON of Indiana (for himself, Mr. CARTWRIGHT, Ms. EDWARDS, Ms. 

LEE of California, Mr. LEWIS, Mr. MEEKS, Ms. NORTON, and Mr. RANGEL) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and 

Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, 

in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To ensure prompt access to Supplemental Security Income, 

Social Security disability, and Medicaid benefits for persons released from certain public institutions. 

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 ‘‘Recidivism Reduction 

5 Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds as follows: 


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1 (1) There are an estimated 350,000 mentally ill 

2 individuals in State and Federal prisons. 

3 (2) According to the Bureau of Justice Statis4 tics, nearly 15 percent of men and 31 percent of 

5 women in jails have serious mental illnesses, with fe6 male inmates having higher rates of mental health 

7 problems than male inmates—State prisons: 73 per8 cent of females and 55 percent of males; local jails: 

9 75 percent of females and 63 percent of males. 

10 (3) According to surveys completed by the Bu11 reau of Justice Statistics, 16.3 percent of jail in12 mates reported they had a ‘‘mental health condition’’ 

13 or an overnight stay in a ‘‘mental hospital’’ in their 

14 lifetime, and 60.5 percent of local jail inmates re15 ported they had symptoms of a mental illness. 

16 (4) Access to Federal disability and health care 

17 benefits is a critical component of the successful re18 entry into the community of indigent individuals 

19 with disabilities who are released from jail, prison, 

20 juvenile detention, or other correctional facilities. 

21 (5) As a matter of public safety, individuals 

22 with disabilities released from correctional facilities 

23 must be reinstated in the Federal benefit programs 

24 that are designed to provide the health services and 

25 financial supports on which they rely. 


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1 (6) Individuals with disabilities who live in ex2 treme poverty and who are too disabled to work 

3 after release from correctional facilities require Gov4 ernment supports such as Social Security Disability 

5 Insurance (SSDI), Supplemental Security Income 

6 (SSI), or Medicaid to maintain health and to safely 

7 transition from correctional facilities into the com8 munity. 

9 (7) It is the policy of the United States to pro10 vide individuals with disabilities assistance in leading 

11 healthy and productive lives. 

12 (8) On average, mentally ill inmates serve 103.4 

13 months in State prison until their release, as com14 pared to 88.2 months for other inmates. Yet, their 

15 SSI benefits terminate after 12 consecutive months 

16 of their incarceration. On average, it takes 93 days 

17 to reinstate those benefits. 

18 (9) Health care benefits are especially impor19 tant to low-income individuals with disabilities who 

20 often cannot afford private market insurance and 

21 who are at great risk of incurring exorbitant costs 

22 for health care. SSI beneficiaries who lose benefits 

23 because of incarceration may also lose Medicaid cov24 erage. 


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1 (10) Without prompt access to Federal dis2 ability benefits on their release, individuals with psy3 chiatric disabilities who come into contact with the 

4 criminal justice system often become trapped in 

5 many cycles of arrest, release, destitution, deteriora6 tion, and re-arrest. 

7 (11) Rates for mentally ill offenders are very 

8 high. A Bureau of Justice Statistics report found 

that over 3 9 ⁄4 of mentally ill inmates had been sen10 tenced to time in prison or jail or were on probation 

11 at least once before their current sentence. 

12 (A) Three-quarters of those returning from 

13 prison have a history of substance use dis14 orders. Over 70 percent of prisoners with seri15 ous mental illnesses also have a substance use 

16 disorder. 

17 (B) Among repeat offenders, an estimated 

18 47 percent of State prisoners who had a mental 

19 health problem were violent recidivists, com20 pared to 39 percent of State prisoners without 

21 a mental problem. 

22 (12) Among the mentally ill, 52 percent of 

23 State prison inmates, 54 percent of jail inmates, and 

24 49 percent of Federal prison inmates reported 3 or 

25 more prior sentences of probation or incarceration. 


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(13) Nearly 1 1 ⁄4 of both State prisoners and jail 

2 inmates who had a mental health problem, compared 

to 1 3 ⁄5 of those without, had been incarcerated on 3 

4 or more prior occasions. 

5 (14) Although discharge-planning practices vary 

6 considerably, inmates are typically released with no 

7 more than a 2-week supply of even crucial medica8 tions such as insulin and with no primary care fol9 low-up, so the burden of care falls predominantly on 

10 emergency rooms and is financed primarily by the 

11 public. 

12 SEC. 3. SUPPLEMENTAL SECURITY INCOME BENEFITS. 

13 (a) REINSTATEMENT OR RESUMPTION OF BENEFITS

14 ON RELEASE OF INMATE FROM INCARCERATION.—Sec15 tion 1631 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1383) is 

16 amended by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(q)(1)(A)(i) Eligibility for benefits under this title 

18 shall be reinstated in any case where the Commissioner 

19 determines that an individual described in clause (ii) has 

20 filed a request for reinstatement meeting the requirements 

21 of subparagraph (B)(i) during the period described in 

22 clause (iii). Reinstatement of eligibility shall be in accord23 ance with the terms of this paragraph. Notwithstanding 

24 the preceding provisions of this clause, eligibility for bene25 fits under this title of an individual who has become an 


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1 inmate of a jail, prison, penal institution, or correctional 

2 facility shall be reinstated automatically upon discharge 

3 or release from the institution, without the need to reapply 

4 for the benefits, if the period of sentence to the institution 

5 does not exceed 90 days. 

6 ‘‘(ii) An individual is described in this clause if— 

7 ‘‘(I) before the month in which the individual 

8 files a request for reinstatement— 

9 ‘‘(aa) the individual was eligible for bene10 fits under this title on the basis of disability; 

11 and 

12 ‘‘(bb) the individual thereafter was ineli13 gible for such benefits because the individual 

14 was an inmate of a jail, prison, penal institu15 tion, or correctional facility for a period of 12 

16 or more consecutive months; 

17 ‘‘(II) the individual is blind or disabled, and the 

18 individual’s blindness or disability renders the indi19 vidual unable to perform substantial gainful activity; 

20 and 

21 ‘‘(III) the individual meets the nonmedical re22 quirements for eligibility for benefits under this title. 

23 ‘‘(iii)(I) Except as provided in subclause (II), the pe24 riod prescribed in this clause with respect to an individual 

25 is 36 consecutive months beginning with the month folVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:27 Sep 21, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3123.IH H3123

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1 lowing the most recent month for which the individual was 

2 ineligible for benefits under this title before the period of 

3 ineligibility described in clause (ii)(I)(bb). 

4 ‘‘(II) In the case of an individual who fails to file 

5 a reinstatement request within the period described in sub6 clause (I), the Commissioner may extend the period if the 

7 Commissioner determines that the individual had good 

8 cause for the failure to so file. 

9 ‘‘(B)(i)(I) A request for reinstatement shall be filed 

10 on such form, and contain such information, as the Com11 missioner may prescribe. 

12 ‘‘(II) A request for reinstatement shall include ex13 press declarations by the individual stating that the indi14 vidual meets the requirements specified in subclauses (II) 

15 and (III) of subparagraph (A)(ii). 

16 ‘‘(III) A request for reinstatement shall include an 

17 express declaration by a health care professional that the 

18 individual is blind or disabled. 

19 ‘‘(ii) A request for reinstatement filed in accordance 

20 with this paragraph may constitute an application for ben21 efits in the case of any individual who the Commissioner 

22 determines is not eligible for reinstated benefits under this 

23 paragraph. 


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1 ‘‘(C) In determining whether an individual meets the 

2 requirement of subparagraph (A)(ii)(II), the provisions of 

3 section 1614(a)(4) shall apply. 

4 ‘‘(D)(i) Eligibility for benefits reinstated under this 

5 paragraph shall commence with the benefit payable for the 

6 month in which— 

7 ‘‘(I) a request for reinstatement is filed; or 

8 ‘‘(II) if the request is filed before the individual 

9 is discharged or released from a jail, prison, deten10 tion center, or correctional facility, the individual is 

11 so discharged or released. 

12 ‘‘(ii) The amount of benefit payable for any month 

13 pursuant to the reinstatement of eligibility under this 

14 paragraph shall be determined in accordance with the pro15 visions of this title. 

16 ‘‘(E) Whenever an individual’s eligibility for benefits 

17 under this title is reinstated under this paragraph, eligi18 bility for the benefits shall be reinstated with respect to 

19 the individual’s spouse if the spouse was previously an eli20 gible spouse of the individual under this title and the Com21 missioner determines that the spouse satisfies all the re22 quirements for eligibility for the benefits except require23 ments related to the filing of an application. The provi24 sions of subparagraph (D) shall apply to the reinstated 


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1 eligibility of the spouse to the same extent that they apply 

2 to the reinstated eligibility of the individual. 

3 ‘‘(2) For purposes of this subsection, the term ‘bene4 fits under this title’ includes State supplementary pay5 ments made pursuant to an agreement under section 

6 1616(a) of this Act or section 212(b) of Public Law 93– 

7 66.’’. 

8 (b) COOPERATION OF PENAL INSTITUTIONS IN PRO9 VIDING NOTICE OF PENDING RELEASE OF INMATE AND

10 IN ASSISTING SOON TO BE RELEASED INMATES IN HAV11 ING BENEFITS RESUMED.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 1611(e)(1)(I)(i) of 

13 such Act (42 U.S.C. 1382(e)(1)(I)(i)) is amended— 

14 (A) in subclause (I), by inserting ‘‘and 

15 scheduled release’’ after ‘‘commencement’’; and 

16 (B) in subclause (II)— 

17 (i) by inserting ‘‘(other than sched18 uled release information)’’ before ‘‘to the 

19 Commissioner’’; 

20 (ii) by inserting ‘‘(other than sched21 uled release information)’’ before ‘‘after 30 

22 days’’; and 

23 (iii) by inserting ‘‘except that the 

24 Commissioner shall not make a payment 

25 under this subclause to an institution if 


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1 the institution does not furnish scheduled 

2 release information at least 30 days before 

3 the scheduled release or does not have in 

4 place personnel and procedures to inform 

5 and assist inmates scheduled to be released 

6 in applying to have their benefits under 

7 this title resumed’’ before the period. 

8 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 

9 by paragraph (1) shall take effect 1 year after the 

10 date of the enactment of this Act. 

11 (3) NOTICE OF REQUIREMENT TO FURNISH IN12 FORMATION ABOUT SCHEDULED RELEASE OF IN13 MATES.—The Commissioner of Social Security shall 

14 notify each institution with which the Commissioner 

15 has entered into an agreement under section 

16 1611(e)(1)(I)(i) of the Social Security Act of the 

17 payment restriction added by paragraph (1) of this 

18 subsection. 

19 (c) NOTICE AND TRAINING RELATED TO PRE-RE20 LEASE AGREEMENTS.—Section 1611(e)(1)(I) of such Act 

21 (42 U.S.C. 1382(e)(1)(I)) is amended by adding at the 

22 end the following: 

23 ‘‘(v) The Commissioner shall provide technical sup24 port and resources to each State or local institution com25 prising a jail, prison, penal institution, or correctional faVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:27 Sep 21, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3123.IH H3123

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1 cility, and any other State or local institution a purpose 

2 of which is to confine individuals as described in section 

3 202(x)(1)(A)(ii) with respect to, and notify each such in4 stitution of the availability of, the pre-release agreements 

5 provided for in this subparagraph. 

6 ‘‘(vi) Within 6 months after the end of each fiscal 

7 year, the Commissioner shall submit to the Congress a 

8 written report on the activities conducted pursuant to this 

9 subparagraph during the fiscal year. 

10 ‘‘(vii) The Commissioner shall develop model pre-re11 lease procedures which States may use to facilitate the 

12 goals of this subparagraph.’’. 

13 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Except as provided in sub14 section (b)(2), the amendments made by this section shall 

15 take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act, and 

16 shall apply to benefits payable for months beginning after 

17 such date. 

18 SEC. 4. SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS. 

19 (a) PRE-RELEASE PROCEDURES FOR DISABLED

20 PRISONERS AND OTHER INDIVIDUALS.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 202(x) of the Social 

22 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 402(x)) is amended by add23 ing at the end the following: 

24 ‘‘(4) The Commissioner shall develop a system under 

25 which an individual whose disability insurance benefits 


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1 under section 223 or other benefits under this section 

2 based on disability have been suspended under this sub3 section by reason of confinement in an institution com4 prising a jail, prison, penal institution, or correctional fa5 cility, or comprising any other institution a purpose of 

6 which is to confine individuals as described in paragraph 

7 (1)(A)(ii), can apply for resumption of such benefits prior 

8 to cessation of such confinement.’’. 

9 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The Commissioner of 

10 Social Security shall implement the system described 

11 in section 202(x)(4) of the Social Security Act (as 

12 added by this subsection) not later than 180 days 

13 after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

14 (b) COOPERATION OF PENAL INSTITUTIONS IN PRO15 VIDING NOTICE OF PENDING RELEASE OF INMATE AND

16 IN ASSISTING SOON TO BE RELEASED INMATES IN HAV17 ING BENEFITS RESUMED.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 202(x)(3)(B)(i) of 

19 such Act (42 U.S.C. 402(x)(3)(B)(i)) is amended— 

20 (A) in subclause (I), by inserting ‘‘and 

21 scheduled release’’ after ‘‘commencement’’; and 

22 (B) in subclause (II)— 

23 (i) by inserting ‘‘(other than sched24 uled release information)’’ before ‘‘to the 

25 Commissioner’’; 


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1 (ii) by inserting ‘‘(other than sched2 uled release information)’’ before ‘‘after 30 

3 days’’; and 

4 (iii) by inserting ‘‘, except that the 

5 Commissioner shall not make a payment 

6 under this subclause to an institution if 

7 the institution does not furnish scheduled 

8 release information at least 30 days before 

9 the scheduled release or does not have in 

10 place personnel and procedures to inform 

11 and assist inmates scheduled to be released 

12 in applying to have their benefits under 

13 this title resumed’’ before the period. 

14 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 

15 by paragraph (1) shall take effect 1 year after the 

16 date of the enactment of this Act. 

17 (3) NOTICE OF REQUIREMENT TO FURNISH IN18 FORMATION ABOUT SCHEDULED RELEASE OF IN19 MATES.—The Commissioner of Social Security shall 

20 notify each institution with which the Commissioner 

21 has entered into an agreement under section 

22 202(x)(3)(B)(i) of the Social Security Act of the 

23 payment restriction added by paragraph (1) of this 

24 subsection. 


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1 (c) NOTICE AND TRAINING RELATED TO PRE-RE2 LEASE AGREEMENTS.—Section 202(x)(3)(B) of such Act 

3 (42 U.S.C. 402(x)(3)(B)) is amended by adding at the end 

4 the following: 

5 ‘‘(v) The Commissioner shall provide technical sup6 port and resources to each State or local institution com7 prising a jail, prison, penal institution, or correctional fa8 cility, and any other State or local institution a purpose 

9 of which is to confine individuals as described in para10 graph (1)(A)(ii) with respect to, and notify each such in11 stitution of the availability of, the pre-release agreements 

12 provided for in this subparagraph. 

13 ‘‘(vi) Within 6 months after the end of each fiscal 

14 year, the Commissioner shall submit to the Congress a 

15 written report on the activities conducted pursuant to this 

16 subparagraph during the fiscal year.’’. 

17 SEC. 5. MEDICAID BENEFITS. 

18 (a) REINSTATEMENT OF MEDICAID ENROLLMENT.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 1902(a) of the So20 cial Security Act (42 U.S.C. l396b(a)) is amended— 

21 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para22 graph (80); 

23 (B) by striking the period at the end of 

24 paragraph (81) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 


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1 (C) by inserting after paragraph (81) the 

2 following new paragraph: 

3 ‘‘(82) provide that in the case of any individual 

4 enrolled for medical assistance under the State plan 

5 immediately before becoming an inmate of a public 

6 institution, if the period of sentence to the institu7 tion does not exceed 90 days— 

8 ‘‘(A) the enrollment of such individual 

9 shall be reinstated automatically upon release 

10 from the institution without the need to reapply 

11 for such assistance; and 

12 ‘‘(B) any period of continuous eligibility in 

13 effect on the date the individual became such 

14 an inmate shall be reinstated as of the date of 

15 the release and the duration of such period 

16 shall be determined without regard to the pe17 riod in which the individual was such an in18 mate.’’. 

19 (2) 5 PERCENTAGE POINT INCREASE IN FMAP

20 DURING YEAR AFTER REINSTATEMENT AFTER IM21 PLEMENTATION OF REINSTATEMENT SYSTEM.—Sec22 tion 1905(b) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

23 1396d(b)) is amended by adding at the end the fol24 lowing: ‘‘Notwithstanding the first sentence, for cal25 endar quarters beginning after the date a State 


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1 modifies its computer system described in subsection 

2 (a)(3)(A)(i) so that it can easily provide for the rein3 statement of medical assistance required under sec4 tion 1902(a)(82), with respect to items and services 

5 furnished to an individual described in such section 

6 who loses medical assistance by becoming an inmate 

7 of a public institution, the Federal medical assist8 ance percentage otherwise applied shall be increased 

9 by 5 percentage points (but in no case shall the Fed10 eral medical assistance percentage exceed 100 per11 cent) for medical assistance for items and services 

12 furnished during the 1-year period beginning on the 

13 date the individual’s eligibility for medical assistance 

14 under this title is reinstated under such section after 

15 release from the public institution.’’. 

16 (3) CLARIFICATION OF TREATMENT OF CER17 TAIN ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Nothing in sec18 tion 1905(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

19 1396d(a)) shall be construed as prohibiting or pre20 venting the provision of Federal financial participa21 tion under section 1903(a) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 

22 1396b(a)) to States for reasonable administrative 

23 costs of determining eligibility status of individuals 

24 described in section 1902(a)(82) of such Act, as in25 serted by paragraph (1). 


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1 (4) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 

2 by paragraph (1) shall take effect on the date of the 

3 enactment of this Act and shall apply to individuals 

4 who are released from being an inmate of a public 

5 institution on or after the first day of the first cal6 endar quarter beginning 180 days after the date of 

7 the enactment of this Act, except that the Secretary 

8 of Health and Human Services shall not undertake 

9 any enforcement against a State that fails to meet 

10 the requirement of section 1902(a)(82) of the Social 

11 Security Act, as inserted by such amendments, until 

12 the State has had a reasonable opportunity (of not 

13 less than 180 days) to modify its computer system 

14 described in section 1903(a)(3)(A)(i) of such Act 

15 (42 U.S.C. 1396b(a)(3)(A)(i)) so the system can 

16 meet the requirement of such section 1902(a)(82). 

17 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF CASE MANAGEMENT SERV18 ICES.—The first sentence of section 1915(g)(1) of the So19 cial Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396n(g)(1)) is amended by 

20 inserting before the period at the end the following: ‘‘and 

21 for the purpose of providing no more than three case man22 agement services, without regard to the subdivision (A) 

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1 ning for services following release from a public institu2 tion’’. 

Æ 


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