Ohio Correctional Health Project

The Ohio Correctional Health Program (Ohio Offender Project) helps offenders who are preparing to be released from prison develop a transition of care plan to ensure their health needs are met as they re-enter society. The Ohio Department of Medicaid and Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections partnered with all participating Medicaid managed care organizations, the Ohio Department of Health, and the Department of Mental Health and Addiction to begin this program in 2014. Offenders who have two or more infectious or chronic health conditions are eligible to be matched with a peer mentor (peer mentors are offenders who have long-term sentences) who assists them with a Medicaid application and selection of a health plan. The chosen health plan works with the offender to develop a transition of care plan to ensure access to needed care, medication, and assistance with food, shelter, or safety issues, and access to community-based transition services. One goal of this program is to reduce Ohio’s 26 percent recidivism rate by helping released offenders manage chronic health or mental health conditions. The expenses for this program are financed as part of the health plan’s Medicaid capitation rate (administrative dollars). To read more about this innovative program, see this brief summary [link]