Louisiana Applies to Improve Reentry Healthcare, Incorporating Comments from CHLP and Allies

The State of Louisiana recently submitted a Section 1115 Waiver Application to The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) that includes a new request for pre-release medication and acknowledges the need for increased stakeholder engagement. Both of these items were included as a result of comments authored by the Center for Health Law Policy and Innovation (CHLPI) at Harvard Law School and submitted to the Louisiana Department of Health during the public comment period.

CHLP, the National Viral Hepatitis Roundtable (NVHR), and the Capitol Area Reentry Program (CARPBR) worked with CHLPI on the public comments that advocated for additional prescription coverage in the pre-release period and encouraged compensated feedback opportunities for community members and organizations, among other suggestions.

This new waiver opportunity provides states with an opportunity to receive federal matching funds to provide Medicaid-covered services to people prior to their release from incarceration. Louisiana’s Section 1115 Waiver would help the state’s Medicaid program facilitate continuity of care as part of a more comprehensive reentry model. The incorporation of suggestions from our and other public comments will generate improvements in treating HIV and HCV in carceral settings and improve health outcomes in Louisiana.