Tracking the CalAIM 1115 Reentry Waiver

1-2PM = Hybrid Lunch Presentation at Geffen Hall 113 followed by Q&A

 In 2020, California was the first state to be approved by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for a partial waiver of the “inmate exclusion policy” which has historically limited Medicaid payment for service provided during incarceration. The project, which launched in October 2024, creates new channels of Medicaid funding to carceral settings and community providers with the aim of mitigating high rates of “reentry” morbidity and mortality by improving transitions of care for individuals leaving carceral settings. Since California’s approval, 24 additional states have either been approved or are pending approval of similar policies. Undoubtedly, the new policy will markedly restructure the relationship between health and carceral systems nationally. 

To better understand the potential benefits and risks of this reform this session will discuss: 

1. Key elements of the 1115 reentry waiver and its ongoing implementation in California and Los Angeles County 

2. The potential benefits and risks to individuals and communities impacted by carceral system 

3. Implications for the carceral landscape and decarceration efforts both locally and nationally