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11 <br />nt <br />AD PIITI A °"ION <br />Feb. 18, 2022 <br />Contact: Erik Thorson, Communications Director, 763-324-4612, or e-mail: <br />Erik.Thorson@co.anoka.mn.us <br />FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE <br />Anoka County Supports Medicaid Coverage for Pre -Trial Detainees <br />Congressman Tom Emmer and three other U.S. House of Representative members from <br />states across the nation introduced legislation Feb. 7 that would allow pre-trial detainees access to <br />Medicaid coverage. Anoka County supports this effort. <br />"The present system of denying pre-trial detainees access to Medicaid coverage conflicts <br />with their constitutional rights," said Scott Schulte, chair, Anoka County board of Commissioners. <br />"The current laws, in terms of this type of coverage, operate under a `guilty until proven innocent' <br />assumption that's harmful to both the detainees and taxpayers." <br />Access to federal health benefits would: <br />• Allow for improved coordination of care while simultaneously decreasing short-term <br />costs to local taxpayers, and long-term costs to the federal government. <br />• Help counties break the cycle of recidivism caused or exacerbated by untreated mental <br />illness and/or substance abuse, thereby improving public safety. <br />• Eliminate the double standard for individuals pending disposition who are released back <br />into the community by allowing them to remain eligible for Medicaid, Medicare, and <br />Veterans Affairs benefits. <br />"This bill would rightly amend the Medicaid Inmate Exclusion Policy to ensure detainees are <br />afforded due process," said District 6 Anoka County Commissioner Jeff Reinert, who serves as <br />the board's Human Services Committee chairman. "Many pre-trial detainees suffer from mental <br />illnesses and/or substance abuse issues and allowing access to treatment for this population helps <br />them individually and society as a whole." <br />-30- <br />DK:bv <br />Res Ioam;aGIs f'o,„0II, IIIreIreovarli pa00a„ as 000;a 0 ry Eras oIre l0bIIm;a <br />00c0vfsYIIt€'I'F'i.,. 21003"A\(F.'aY"'I1.Ie '.51„„11300700 A A01C:7ka,Mr,01r1r3 03..5 '; <br />arr as F 6 x ,24 47 0 0 A,:1'x: lft i .i F;)� 1Y•�E;"r (! <br />l xl00E.00 1110 y l.at�t <br />A aril aIliva Aart lio 010 l E 04u„0 a 0 0lla o ut,v,„0 n Ih:llalloy0o0;0lr <br />