Building the Table: A Right to Quality and Continuous Health Care for People Incarcerated and Returning from Incarceration

Date:  04-10-2024 People released from prison are 12 times more likely to die than others

From JUSTUS Coordinating Council: Introduction Lack of access to quality, culturally appropriate, and trauma-informed health, mental health, and behavioral care, in addition to the impact of social determinants of health, exacerbates the disparities faced by individuals with low-incomes and people of color. These challenges manifest in more severe and extensive health care struggles for people of color compared to their white counterparts.1 In turn,incarceration itself is a major social determinant of health. At the time of their arrest, half of individuals in state prisons lacked access to health care directly tied to the absence of material and financial resources to afford health care insurance, a lack of employer sponsored health care insurance, and state policies denying access to health care for those with lower incomes.2 This, in turn, increases the likelihood of involvement with the criminal legal system in a person’s life, driven bylaws that criminalize poverty and homelessness. Additionally, it amplifies the likelihood of individuals with mental health and substance use conditions being arrested and incarcerated. Furthermore, the lack of continuity of care following a period of incarceration increases the chances of individuals returning back to jail or prison.3 This vicious cycle not only perpetuates the United States’ carceral system but also results in countless deaths, trauma, injury, and human rights violations inside carceral walls and within communities nationwide. The health care needs of individuals incarcerated in the U.S—including mental health, substance use disorders, and chronic conditions such as asthma, diabetes, and heart disease—are high. Justice involved individuals face disproportionately high rates of serious mental illness (SMI), substance use disorder (SUD), and infectious and other chronic physical health conditions.4,5,6 An estimated 80 percent of those returning from incarceration grapple with chronic medical, psychiatric, or substance use disorders.7 Read the full brief here.