Shafer sees cost savings for jail health care
By Terry Murry on Tuesday, March 12th, 2024 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
UMATILLA COUNTY – Umatilla County Commissioner John Shafer sits on the National Association of Counties Justice and Public Safety Task Force. He says NACo has been advocating for health insurance policies already held by those who are arrested to stay in effect while they are incarcerated before going on trial, and those lobbying efforts are already paying off in Oregon.
“They lose those benefits and then it falls on Umatilla County to pay for medical care,” he said. “Oregon is now one of two states that has applied for and received what we call an 11-15 waiver.”
That waiver will make a big difference for the Umatilla County Jail.
“What that means is we will be able to charge Medicaid for those services,” he said. “The people who come into our facility will not be losing coverage and the county will not be on the hook for medical expenses.”
Counties operate 2,875 of the nation’s local jails. More information on how to help exempt the jails from medical bills as part of the Medicaid Inmate Exclusion Policy in other states is available at https://www.naco.org/.
