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Erath County agrees to MOU with Health Plan Freedom to help eligible inmates enroll in insurance
Summary
The commissioners approved a memorandum of understanding with Health Plan Freedom to enable eligible incarcerated individuals to apply for health insurance during open enrollment; staff said the county's expected out-of-pocket exposure would be the plan maximum out-of-pocket (cited $1,200).
Erath County Commissioners Court approved entering a memorandum of understanding with Health Plan Freedom on Nov. 24 to allow eligible incarcerated individuals to apply for health insurance during open enrollment.
County staff and a jail captain explained the program would let inmates apply for coverage under the Affordable Care Act during an open-enrollment window. The county would not pay ongoing administrative fees, staff said, but would be responsible for an enrollee’s deductible or maximum out-of-pocket exposure up to $1,200 for an individual in the examples discussed.
The presenter said the jail would handle enrollment logistics and the arrangement could reduce county spending on inmate health-care costs, which staff cited at roughly $370,000 spent on inmate health care so far this year. Commissioners moved, seconded and approved the MOU by unanimous voice vote.
The court did not adopt a new policy beyond the MOU during the meeting; staff said jail personnel would manage enrollment and any ongoing reporting would be handled internally.
Next steps announced at the meeting included executing the MOU and having jail staff run an enrollment process for eligible inmates during the relevant open-enrollment period.
