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What to Know About Medicare Coverage While Incarcerated
What to Know About Medicare Coverage While Incarcerated

Health Line

time3 hours ago

  • Health
  • Health Line

What to Know About Medicare Coverage While Incarcerated

In some cases, incarceration may lead to disenrollment from your Medicare plan. However, there are special rules for reinstatement of coverage upon release. Incarcerated individuals and their families face unique challenges related to Medicare coverage. If you're enrolled in Medicare when you enter custody, you could be disenrolled from your plan if you miss premium payments or have a plan through a private insurance carrier. If you become eligible for Medicare while in custody, you may miss your Medicare initial enrollment period (IEP). For incarceration to affect your Medicare coverage, you need to be considered 'in the custody of penal authorities' by Medicare's definition. This includes being in jail, prison, or a mental health facility, as ordered by criminal law. This definition does not apply to people who are on parole, probation, or awaiting trial. Read on to learn how incarceration affects the different parts of Medicare, how to reenroll upon release, and more. Medicare while incarcerated overview Incarcerated individuals who are eligible for Medicare can maintain their Original Medicare (parts A and B) coverage while in custody. However, although you can maintain Original Medicare coverage during incarceration, Medicare will not pay for any services you receive. Rather, the penal institution where you're incarcerated will provide your healthcare. Additionally, you may enroll or reenroll in Medicare while in custody by contacting the Social Security Administration (SSA). Generally, you'll be automatically enrolled in Medicare if you turn 65 years old while receiving Social Security benefits. However, since Social Security benefits are discontinued while a person is in custody, you would need to enroll in Medicare manually during your IEP. Medicare coverage limitations while incarcerated Incarceration affects each part of Medicare in different ways. Part A If you're eligible for premium-free Part A while incarcerated, your coverage will continue throughout your time in custody. If you aren't eligible for premium-free Part A, you're entitled to enroll in Part A coverage while in custody. However, continued coverage is dependent on making monthly premium payments. If you cease paying the premium, you will be disenrolled from Part A. Part B To maintain Part B coverage while incarcerated, you'll have to continue paying the monthly premium. In 2025, the Part B premium starts at $185. If you stop paying it, Medicare will disenroll you from Part B. Medicare Advantage (Part C) To be eligible for a Medicare Advantage plan, you must live within the plan's service area. If you're incarcerated, you're considered outside the service area of Medicare Advantage. If you have a Medicare Advantage plan at the time of incarceration, you will be disenrolled from the plan. Part D Like Medicare Advantage plans, Part D plans are also offered by private insurance companies and vary based on a person's location. If you are in custody, you will be disenrolled from your Part D plan. Reinstating coverage upon release If you lose Medicare coverage while incarcerated or wish to switch your coverage, you can do so upon your release. Before 2023, if you were released from custody, you had to wait until the Medicare general enrollment period (GEP) to sign up for Medicare. This could result in months without Medicare coverage and potential late enrollment penalties. Since January 1, 2023, individuals released from custody qualify for an exceptional condition special enrollment period (SEP) for formerly incarcerated (in custody) individuals. This SEP begins the day of your release and ends on the last day of the 12th month after your release. If you miss the SEP for formerly incarcerated individuals, you'll need to wait until the next GEP to reenroll. After release, consider contacting the SSA to ask about signing up for Medicare. You can do so via phone at 800-772-1213 (TTY: 800-325-0778). Consequences of not reenrolling For Part A, Part B, and Part D, Medicare-eligible individuals can face late enrollment penalties for going without Medicare coverage. If you lose Medicare coverage while in custody and do not enroll during the SEP after your release, you may face penalties when you go to enroll at a later time. These penalties come in the form of higher monthly premium payments. Each penalty has a different calculation, but some can last for as long as you're enrolled. Frequently asked questions about Medicare while incarcerated What happens to Medicare when you are incarcerated? You can maintain your Original Medicare coverage while you're incarcerated if you continue paying any required premiums. If you have a Medicare Advantage (Part C) or Part D plan at the time of incarceration, you will be disenrolled when you enter custody, as the plan will consider you outside of its coverage area. You can reenroll in Medicare — or enroll for the first time, if you became eligible while incarcerated but missed your initial enrollment period — during a special enrollment period that begins when you're released. You can maintain your Original Medicare coverage while you're incarcerated if you continue paying any required premiums. If you have a Medicare Advantage (Part C) or Part D plan at the time of incarceration, you will be disenrolled when you enter custody, as the plan will consider you outside of its coverage area. You can reenroll in Medicare — or enroll for the first time, if you became eligible while incarcerated but missed your initial enrollment period — during a special enrollment period that begins when you're released. Do inmates get free healthcare in the United States? In the United States, incarcerated individuals have a right to adequate healthcare. However, this care is not always free. There may be fees, such as copayments, associated with different services or medications. In the United States, incarcerated individuals have a right to adequate healthcare. However, this care is not always free. There may be fees, such as copayments, associated with different services or medications. The information on this website may assist you in making personal decisions about insurance, but it is not intended to provide advice regarding the purchase or use of any insurance or insurance products. Healthline Media does not transact the business of insurance in any manner and is not licensed as an insurance company or producer in any U.S. jurisdiction. Healthline Media does not recommend or endorse any third parties that may transact the business of insurance.

How Courts Are Rethinking Criminal Sentencing
How Courts Are Rethinking Criminal Sentencing

New York Times

time6 days ago

  • Politics
  • New York Times

How Courts Are Rethinking Criminal Sentencing

Dear Headway reader, It was called the 'McDonaldization of punishment.' In the 1990s, alarm over high crime rates led to a raft of laws that limited the discretion the justice system applied to individual defendants. Measures such as 'three strikes and you're out' laws aimed to ensure that the system wouldn't be too lenient on those who seemed to demonstrate a propensity for crime. Then the United States prison population exploded in size, even as anticipated waves of violent crime never materialized and crime levels in the country declined to historic lows. By the mid-2010s, bipartisan agreement that incarceration had gotten out of control led to support for measures that tackle the tough cases of potential overincarceration. In June, Issie Lapowsky reported for Headway on the lessons of one such initiative that came from an unlikely source: prosecutors. Whom prison reform left behind In 2018, California passed the nation's first prosecutor-initiated resentencing law. 'Bipartisan demand to shrink the ballooning U.S. prison population was mounting,' Issie reports. 'Yet prosecutors — who all had old cases with needlessly long sentences weighing on their consciences — were being sidelined from discussions about proposed reforms.' Hilary Blout, who had worked as a prosecutor under Kamala Harris in the San Francisco district attorney's office, consulted with fellow prosecutors across California to draft a law that would let them identify cases to the court where lesser sentences might be merited. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.

'We were the silent victim' - children with parents in prison form new panel to help kids
'We were the silent victim' - children with parents in prison form new panel to help kids

RNZ News

time25-06-2025

  • Politics
  • RNZ News

'We were the silent victim' - children with parents in prison form new panel to help kids

Pillars youth panel Ngā Rangitira Apōpō pictured with Minister for Children Karen Chhour and Chief Children's Commissioner Claire Achmad. Photo: RNZ / Lillian Hanly Rangatahi impacted by a parent in prison say more needs to be done to ensure they are not punished for the crimes of their family members. They have formed a youth advisory panel - Ngā Rangatira Mō Apōpō - which met with Children's Minister Karen Chhour on the steps of Parliament. They handed her an open letter calling for the establishment of a whānau navigator role in criminal district courts to help those left behind when someone is sent to jail. About 20,000 children are impacted by whānau incarceration in Aotearoa. Children who - while they have done nothing wrong - are nonetheless punished. Courtney is one of them. "Me and my siblings lost both of our parents in the justice system at the same time and we didn't know till my older sister got a very unfortunate call from my family's lawyers and after that, our Nana was left in charge of us four kids. "We didn't have any support, we were left in the dark, we didn't even get to call our mum or dad or see them for ages." Four children's lives turned upside down. Pillars chief executive Tuhi Leef and Youth panelist Courtney. Photo: RNZ / Louise Ternouth Courtney is part of the Ngā Rangatira Mō Apōpō youth advisory panel run by Pillars, which gathered at parliament asking the government to do more to help those like her family. She said the rangatahi felt while their parents broke the law, it was not fair they were made to suffer due to uncertainty and a lack of support. "All the stories on that panel, all our backgrounds, it's all different, but we all can agree that we were the silent victim and it was horrible not knowing what was happening. "We all have forgotten what our parents looked like or what their voices sound like because of some lack of communication, yeah, I don't want that for anyone else." The letter presented to Chhour makes the case for a whānau navigator role in criminal district courts. Whānau navigators would help families to access wrap around services, and ensure they are informed of their rights around prison visits and communication with their whānau member in detention. Minister of Children Karen Chhour gathers with rangatahi impacted by a parent in prison at parliament. Photo: RNZ / Lillian Hanly A similar 'kaiarahi' role has been established in the Family Court and Alcohol and Other Drug Treatment Court. The panel is being supported by the group Pillars, which helps children and whānau of prisoners. Researcher and youth advocate Corrina Thompson said it was essential a whānau navigator was in place as soon as someone entered the judicial system. "Far too often, children are largely invisible from the point of arrest, right through court proceedings, through to prison and sometimes it's not until the person arrives in prison that the fact that that person is a parent with children is even known. "That point between a first appearance in court and prison can actually be a really long time for a lot of people months, in some cases years." Thompson noted that the government's tough-on-crime approach also impacted innocent families of offenders. "There is not just here in New Zealand, but internationally very strong evidence to say that if we want to get tough on crime, we have to get strong on housing, strong on support, strong on culturally responsive intervention prevention, rehabilitation not being tough or soft on people." Rangatira Mō Apōpō youth panel gather on parliament's steps to advocate for justice reform. Photo: Supplied / Pillars If there is government support for the proposal, Pillars and the youth panel are hoping a two-year pilot can be rolled out at district courts. Chief Children's Commissioner Claire Achmad has added her support to the idea. "Children with parents and whānau who are in prison they should be supported to fulfil their full potential and have all of their rights and needs met. "This particular advocacy and idea that Ngā Rangitira Mō Apōpō has brought forth is a tangible way for us to make these children visible and I really want to see the government take it forward and implement it in action." The Ngā Rangatira Mō Apōpō panel pitched a similar idea in 2022, which they said received support in principle from the previous Labour government. As for Wednesday's proposal, Chhour said it was still early days. "I'm not going to make any commitments to supporting the changes what I'm saying is, that I've met with them I've spoken with them... and there's room to have conversations about what that could look like." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

Photos showing how a basketball coaching program has provided self confidence for incarcerated men
Photos showing how a basketball coaching program has provided self confidence for incarcerated men

Associated Press

time23-06-2025

  • Sport
  • Associated Press

Photos showing how a basketball coaching program has provided self confidence for incarcerated men

VACAVILLE, Calif. (AP) — The UK-based Twinning Project is partnering with the Golden State Warriors in a program to teach incarcerated men at Solano State Prison in Vacaville, California, how to coach basketball. The program has provided a purpose and self confidence for these men, some of whom are serving life sentences without the possibility of parole. ___ This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.

Allegheny County Jail, Animal Friends launch TAILS initiative
Allegheny County Jail, Animal Friends launch TAILS initiative

CBS News

time20-06-2025

  • General
  • CBS News

Allegheny County Jail, Animal Friends launch TAILS initiative

The Allegheny County Jail and Pittsburgh-based animal shelter Animal Friends are teaming up to launch the TAILS initiative. TAILS, otherwise known as the Teaching Animals and Incarcerated Lifelong Skills program, is a pilot program designed to provide training and companionship between shelter dogs and allow incarcerated individuals to learn skills associated with fostering pets. The pilot program recently launched with the arrival of Ethel, a 2-year-old, 38-pound mixed-breed dog, who joined the women's program unit at the county jail on June 11. Ethel is a 2-year-old, 38-pound mixed-breed dog who joined the women's program unit at the county jail on June 11. Photo Credit: Allegheny County Jail Ethel will reside with two incarcerated handlers to learn basic manners and build confidence under the guidance of the jail and Animal Friends' behavior staff in hopes of finding a forever home, per a press release from the Allegheny County Jail. If the program is deemed successful, it may expand to include more dogs and units. "The TAILS program is something new and exciting that will benefit all who are involved," said Kelsey Gordon, the jail's female pod coordinator and the creator of the program's name. "The incarcerated women will have something to look forward to each day, the officers who are dog lovers can use it as a morale booster, and the shelter is creating space for other dogs to be rescued. Everyone wins." This is the second such program Animal Friends has launched with a state correctional institution. "This pilot program is a powerful example of what's possible when we come together for both people and animals," said Katie Vecchi, Chief Shelter Operations Officer. "Programs like TAILS align perfectly with our mission - giving vulnerable animals a second chance and creating meaningful opportunities for human-animal connection." Warden Trevor Wingard also showed great interest in launching the program. Wingard had previously implemented similar initiatives during his tenure with the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections. "I've seen firsthand the transformational impact these programs can have," said Warden Wingard. "They improve the lives of incarcerated individuals, give shelter animals the love and attention they need to thrive, and offer our facility a more positive environment overall. We hope Ethel is just the beginning." Ethel has been affectionately described as a "very sweet and high-energy girl" who would thrive with a family that can meet her active lifestyle and continue her positive reinforcement training. Interested adopters can learn more about Ethel and the adoption process by clicking here.

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