II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2697 

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 

AUGUST 10, 2021 

Mr. CASSIDY (for himself, Mr. MERKLEY, and Mr. MARKEY) 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)) 


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1 following paragraph (31) of such section is amended by 

2 inserting ‘‘or, at the option of the State, while in custody 

3 pending disposition of charges’’ after ‘‘patient in a medical 

4 institution’’. 

5 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

6 subsection (a) shall take effect on the 1st day of the 1st 

7 calendar quarter that begins after the date that is 60 days 

8 after the date of the enactment of this Act and shall apply 

9 to items and services furnished for periods beginning on 

10 or after such date. 

11 SEC. 3. PLANNING GRANTS. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall award plan13 ning grants to at least 10 States to support providing 

14 medical assistance under the State Medicaid program to 

15 individuals who are eligible for such assistance as a result 

16 of the amendment made by section 2(a). The grants shall 

17 be used to prepare an application that meets the require18 ments of subsection (b). 

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

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

21 submit an application to the Secretary at such time and 

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

23 that includes the following information along with such 

24 additional information, provisions, and assurances, as the 

25 Secretary may require: 


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

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

3 (2) A review of State policies regarding the 

4 population of individuals who are eligible for medical 

5 assistance under the State Medicaid program as a 

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

7 respect to whether such policies may create barriers 

8 to increasing the number of health care providers 

9 who can provide items and services for that popu10 lation. 

11 (3) The development of a plan, taking into ac12 count activities described in subsection (c)(2), that 

13 will ensure a sustainable number of Medicaid-en14 rolled providers under the State Medicaid program 

15 that can offer a full array of treatment and services 

16 to the patient population described in paragraph (2) 

17 as needed. Such plan shall include the following: 

18 (A) Specific activities to increase the num19 ber of providers that will offer physical health 

20 treatment, as well as services related to behav21 ioral health treatment, including substance use 

22 disorder treatment, recovery, or support serv23 ices (including short-term detoxification serv24 ices, outpatient substance use disorder services, 

25 and evidence-based peer recovery services). 


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1 (B) Milestones and timeliness for imple2 menting activities set forth in the plan. 

3 (C) Specific measurable targets for in4 creasing the number of providers under the 

5 State Medicaid program who will treat the pa6 tient population described in paragraph (2). 

7 (4) An assurance that the State consulted with 

8 relevant stakeholders, including the State agency re9 sponsible for administering the State Medicaid pro10 gram, Medicaid managed care plans, health care 

11 providers, law enforcement personnel, officials from 

12 jails, and Medicaid beneficiary advocates, with re13 spect to the preparation and completion of the appli14 cation and a description of such consultation. 

15 (c) ACTIVITIES DESCRIBED.—For purposes of sub16 section (b)(1), the activities described in this subsection 

17 are the following: 

18 (1) Activities that support the development of 

19 an initial assessment of the health treatment needs 

20 of patients who are in custody pending disposition of 

21 charges to determine the extent to which providers 

22 are needed (including the types of such providers 

23 and geographic area of need) to improve the number 

24 of providers that will treat patients in custody pendVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:30 Aug 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2697.IS S2697

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1 ing disposition of charges under the State Medicaid 

2 program, including the following: 

3 (A) An estimate of the number of individ4 uals enrolled under the State Medicaid program 

5 who are in custody pending disposition of 

6 charges. 

7 (B) Information on the capacity of pro8 viders to provide treatment or services to such 

9 individuals enrolled under the State Medicaid 

10 program, including information on providers 

11 who provide such services and their participa12 tion under the State Medicaid program. 

13 (C) Information on the health care services 

14 provided under programs other than the State 

15 Medicaid program in jails to individuals who 

16 are in custody pending disposition of charges. 

17 (2) Activities that, taking into account the re18 sults of the assessment described in paragraph (1) 

19 with respect to the provision of treatment or services 

20 under the State Medicaid program, support the de21 velopment of State infrastructure to recruit or con22 tract with prospective health care providers, provide 

23 training and technical assistance to such providers, 

24 and secure a process for an electronic health record 

25 system for billing to reimburse for services provided 


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1 by the correctional facility, outpatient providers, 

2 medical vendors, and contracted telehealth service 

3 providers to patients who are in custody pending dis4 position of charges that are compliant with applica5 ble requirements and regulations for State Medicaid 

6 programs. 

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

8 patients who are in custody pending disposition of 

9 charges, including formal reporting mechanisms for 

10 patient outcomes, and activities that promote par11 ticipation in learning collaboratives among providers 

12 treating this population. 

13 (d) GEOGRAPHIC DIVERSITY.—The Secretary shall 

14 select States for planning grants under this section in a 

15 manner that ensures geographic diversity. 

16 (e) FUNDING.—Out of any money in the Treasury 

17 not otherwise appropriated, there are appropriated to the 

18 Secretary to carry out this section, $50,000,000, to re19 main available until expended. 

20 (f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

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

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

23 program under title XIX of the Social Security Act 

24 (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.) including any waiver or 

25 demonstration under such title or under section 


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1 1115 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1315) relating to such 

2 title. 

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

4 the Secretary of Health and Human Services. 

5 (3) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ has the mean6 ing given that term for purposes of title XIX of the 

7 Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.) in sec8 tion 1101(a)(1) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1301(a)(1)). 

Æ 


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