Leon Joseph, who works at Denver Human Services, talks with a detention center inmate about the Affordable Care Act. The Denver Sheriff Department is helping inmates apply for health insurance. (Cyrus McCrimmon, The Denver Post)
Re: “Denver jail inmates signing up for health insurance,” Dec. 31 news story.
It was great to see an article about the Denver County Jail enrolling justice-involved people in health care coverage upon their release. Justice-involved people have higher rates of chronic disease, mental health and addiction disorders than the general population. The Affordable Care Act provides an unprecedented opportunity to connect justice-involved individuals with health care. Not only will this allow more cost flexibility and creativity for the criminal justice system, but access to mental health and substance use disorder treatment has been shown to reduce rates of recidivism.
Health care reform can help break the cycle of reoffending and being re-incarcerated, allowing people to be healthier and safer in the community.
The Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition has created a website devoted to helping connect justice-involved individuals with health care in Colorado. To learn more, visit takecarehealthmatters.org.
Terri Hurst, Denver
The writer is policy coordinator for the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition.
This letter was published in the Jan. 7 edition.
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