Two bills introduced during the Texas 84th Legislature, both currently in committee, present a basic yet significant solution that could help lower recidivism rates among the mentally ill in our Texas jails.
SB 1777 by Senator JosÉ MenÉndez and HB 2523 co-authored by Representatives Nicole Collier, Garnet Coleman, and Elliott Naishtat both relate to the continuation of certain public benefits, including medical assistance, for individuals after release from confinement in a county jail.
The bills seek to amend the Human Resource Code that suspends or terminates Medicaid eligibility for certain individuals confined in a county jail. If enacted, the amended code would require the Health and Human Services Commission to automatically reinstate the individual’s Medicaid eligibility within 48 hours after being notified of the person’s release, providing the individual’s eligibility certification period is still active.
[For more of this story, written by Tom Luce, go to http://tribtalk.org/2015/05/05...or-the-mentally-ill/]
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