Second Chance Mental Health Access Act of 2026
Summary
What This Bill Does
This bill adds a Medicaid state-plan requirement for certain people leaving incarceration. For an individual enrolled in Medicaid under a State plan or waiver who is subject to judicial home confinement and was incarcerated in a public institution immediately before that home confinement, the state plan must cover 12 mental health visits furnished by telehealth during each calendar year of confinement. The requirement applies to individuals released from a public institution on or after enactment.
Who Benefits and How
Previously incarcerated Medicaid enrollees on home confinement benefit because they receive covered access to up to 12 telehealth mental-health visits each year during home confinement. Mental health providers and reentry programs may benefit from clearer Medicaid coverage for this population.
Who Bears the Burden and How
State Medicaid programs must add and administer the telehealth mental-health benefit, update managed-care or fee-for-service coverage rules, and pay for covered visits. CMS must oversee state-plan compliance, and correctional reentry systems must coordinate with Medicaid enrollment and home-confinement status.
Key Provisions
- Requires Medicaid state plans and waivers to cover 12 mental-health telehealth visits per calendar year for eligible home-confined individuals.
- Expands post-release Medicaid access for enrollees who were incarcerated in a public institution immediately before judicial home confinement.
- Applies the new requirement to individuals released from a public institution on or after enactment.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Requires Medicaid coverage of 12 mental-health telehealth visits per calendar year for enrollees on judicial home confinement after release from a public institution.
Key Policy Areas
Medicaid, Healthcare, Justice
Primary Purpose
Requires Medicaid coverage of 12 mental-health telehealth visits per calendar year for enrollees on judicial home confinement after release from a public institution.
Policy Domains
Substantive provisions
Identified Gains
- Previously incarcerated Medicaid enrollees
- People on judicial home confinement
- Mental health providers
- Reentry programs
Identified Costs
- State Medicaid programs
- CMS
- Correctional reentry administrators
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
In CommitteeReferred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Introduced in House
Mrs. Foushee (for herself, Ms. Kelly of Illinois, Ms. Norton, …
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
CMS, Previously incarcerated Medicaid enrollees, State Medicaid programs
Positive-direction: Previously incarcerated Medicaid enrollees
Negative-direction: CMS, State Medicaid programs
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "cms"
- → Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology