The National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP), in collaboration with The Health and Reentry Project (HARP) and with the generous support from Arnold Ventures, is pleased to announce the following seven states have been selected to participate in the State Reentry Learning Collaborative, a multi-state technical assistance opportunity to support states seeking to implement Medicaid reentry waivers:

• California
• Kentucky
• Massachusetts
• New Mexico
• Utah
• Washington
• West Virginia

When individuals reenter the community after a period of incarceration, they often face significant gaps in accessing health care services, which threatens their health and well-being. To address these challenges, states are seeking approval from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to provide Medicaid coverage of targeted services to individuals prior to their release. With this coverage, states hope to improve continuity of care and coordination across health and social support services to improve health outcomes and reduce recidivism. CMS has taken a historic step in approving Medicaid reentry waivers in four states, with 19 others under review.

In the State Reentry Learning Collaborative, NASHP and HARP will support each of the selected seven states over 18 months to advance partnership, policy, programmatic, and resource alignment across Medicaid, health and human services, behavioral health, corrections, and public safety and to work with local partners (including county authorities and jails) to prepare for implementation of pending and approved reentry Medicaid waivers. States will work in cross-agency teams with representatives from Medicaid, corrections, and other state agencies, receiving targeted technical assistance from national, state, and local experts and regular engagement, as well as learning from one another as they lead the way in this groundbreaking work.

As part of their larger commitment to supporting all states in strengthening access to health care for people returning to their communities, NASHP and HARP have also established a State Reentry Learning and Action Network (LAN), which kicked off in March with the generous support of The Commonwealth Fund. Through spring 2025, NASHP and HARP will offer content on improving the intersection of health and criminal justice, including sharing lessons and perspectives gleaned from the intensive seven-state learning collaborative with all states. All state officials are welcome to attend the LAN and will benefit from resource-sharing through the LAN listserv. To join the listserv and Learning and Action Network, please complete this form.