On May 31st, ASAM joined a range of organizations in endorsing the Due Process Continuity of Care Act of 2023 ("the Act"), which would amend the Medicaid Inmate Exclusion Policy (MIEP) in federal law to allow otherwise eligible individuals who are incarcerated pending disposition of charges against them, or pretrial detainees, to receive their full Medicaid benefits while incarcerated at the option of the state.  A modified version of the Act was included in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023, with such provisions only applying to minors. The denial of Medicaid coverage to pretrial detainees collectively burdens local and state governments with billions of dollars in additional healthcare costs to care for a vulnerable population eligible for federal Medicaid coverage.

Read the letter here.