Sponsors (12)
The bill expands short‑term telehealth mental‑health coverage for Medicaid enrollees on home confinement—improving access and potentially reducing recidivism and some costs—while increasing state Medicaid obligations and risking care gaps and implementation delays due to its telehealth‑and‑time‑limited design.
Medicaid enrollees released to home confinement receive up to 12 covered telehealth mental‑health visits per year, substantially improving immediate access to behavioral health care during reentry.
Offering telehealth reduces transportation and scheduling barriers for low‑income Medicaid beneficiaries, making it easier for people on home confinement to attend therapy and stay engaged in treatment.
Providing structured, short‑term mental‑health services at release could lower recidivism and improve community safety while also reducing some downstream emergency/crisis care costs for states and taxpayers.
States are required to cover additional services, which could increase Medicaid program costs and put pressure on state budgets or force spending offsets.
Limiting coverage to telehealth and only during the period of home confinement may leave beneficiaries who need in‑person care or continued services after confinement ends without adequate support.
If states implement the change inconsistently, beneficiaries may face administrative barriers or delays in access during the transition, reducing the intended benefits for some people.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Requires State Medicaid plans (including waivers) to cover up to 12 mental health visits per calendar year delivered via telehealth for Medicaid enrollees who are on home confinement by judicial order and who were incarcerated in a public institution immediately before that confinement. The coverage requirement applies to individuals released from a public institution on or after the date the law takes effect.
Introduced February 12, 2026 by Valerie Foushee · Last progress February 12, 2026