Medical Parole and Compassionate Release

SB 1399 (Chapter 405, Statutes of 2010) authorizes CDCR to grant medical parole to eligible state inmates who have been deemed permanently medically incapacitated by the medical parole board and by the head physician of the institution where the inmate is located.

An inmate granted medical parole is potentially eligible for full scope MC. Inmates who are medically paroled are typically placed into Long Term Care (LTC) facilities off the grounds of the correctional facility.

SB 1462 (Chapter 837, Statutes of 2012) gives counties the option to grant medical probation for qualifying county inmates, similar to medical parole for state inmates.

Eligibility for Medical Parole for State Inmates

An inmate must be permanently medically incapacitated, with a medical condition that makes the inmate unable to perform activities of basic daily living and requires 24-hour care to be eligible for medical parole. (The incapacitation must not have existed at the time of sentencing.)

The Board of Parole Hearings must also determine that the conditions under which the prisoner would be released would not reasonably pose a threat to public safety.

Medical Parole End

Medical Parole may end if:

Inmate’s medical condition changes or improves, or
Inmate is released from the LTC facility and returned to the correctional facility, or
Inmate is granted regular parole.

CCHCS fills out an application form on behalf of the parolee and submits the form to DHCS. The application is reviewed to determine whether the medical parolee is eligible for MC. When appropriate, the disability history is reviewed and if necessary, a disability determination packet is forwarded to DDSD for a disability determination. When the eligibility determination is completed, DHCS sends a NOA to CCHCS.

CCHCS Staff

Forward completed MC applications and documentation to DHCS.
Forward medical records, if a disability determination packet is needed.
Receive eligibility information NOAs from DHCS regarding an inmate’s MC determination.
Work with DHCS to identify patient services provided to eligible inmates.
Inform DHCS when the inmate is released, paroled, or transferred.

DHCS Staff

Perform file clearance for each application.
Perform state inmate eligibility determinations.
Determine the correct aid code for Medical Parolees.
Perform ongoing case management.
Process and forward disability determination packets to DDSD-SP for a disability evaluation.
Forward inmate eligibility information to CCHCS for program administration purposes.
Perform MC RDs.
Refer inmate cases for those released on regular parole and still active in MCIEP to the county for an SB 87 eligibility redetermination.
Forward case information to the county using the MCIEP DHCS-County Transmittal Form and sending via secure e-mail.
Prepare and send NOAs to CCHCS.

State Inmate Aid Codes for Medical Parole

State medical parolees are eligible for all MC covered services if they meet all eligibility requirements.

The following aid codes are used for state medical parolees:

Aid Code	MC Benefits	SOC	Program/Description
G0 (G-zero )	Full-Scope	No	No SOC MC for State Medical Parolees who are entitled to all MC covered (Title XIX) services, because they are not considered to be incarcerated. Aid code G0 will be a secondary aid code.
G9	Restricted	No	No SOC MC for undocumented State Medical Parolees who are entitled to MC benefits limited to covered emergency and pregnancy-related (Title XXI) services only. Aid code G9 will be a secondary aid code.
K2	Full Scope	No	(Newly Eligible) No SOC MC for State Medical Parolees 19-64 years of age with citizen/satisfactory immigration status. Individuals must have income between zero percent to 138 percent FPL, including disabled/blind individuals with income 128 percent to 138 percent FPL. Not entitled to or enrolled in Medicare Parts A or B.
K3	Restricted	No	(Newly Eligible) No SOC MC for State Medical Parolees 19-64 years of age who are undocumented or have unsatisfactory immigration status. Individuals must have income between zero percent to 138 percent FPL and not be entitled to or enrolled in Medicare parts A or B. Medical benefits are limited to emergency, mental health emergency and pregnancy related.
K4	Full-Scope	No	(Not Newly Eligible) No SOC MC for State Medical Parolees 19-64 years of age disabled/blind with citizen/satisfactory immigration status. Individual must have income between zero percent FPL and 128 percent FPL. Not entitled to or enrolled in Medicare parts A or B.
K5	Restricted	No	(Not Newly Eligible) No SOC MC for State Medical Parolees 19 -64 years of age who are disabled/blind who are undocumented/unsatisfactory immigration status. Individual must have income between zero percent to128 percent FPL. Not entitled to or enrolled in Medicare Parts A or B. Medi-Cal benefits limited to emergency, mental health emergency and pregnancy related services.

County Medical Probation/Compassionate Release

SB 1462 (Chapter 837, Statutes of 2012), authorizes a county sheriff, or his/her designee, to:

Release certain prisoners (compassionate release) from a county correctional facility, and
Request that a court grant medical probation, or resentencing in lieu of jail time, to certain county inmates.

Compassionate Release

Below describes the eligibility for county medical probation and county compassionate release. County Sheriffs are authorized to release a prisoner from a county correctional facility on compassionate release if:

The sheriff, in consultation with a physician, determines that the inmate has a life expectancy of six (6) months or less, and
The sheriff determines the prisoner would not reasonably pose a threat to public safety, and
The sheriff notifies the presiding judge of the superior court of his/her intention to release the prisoner, and
A placement option for the prisoner is secured and SSA examines the prisoner’s eligibility for MC or other medical coverage.

Medical Probation

County Sheriffs are authorized to request medical probation if:

A prisoner is physically incapacitated with a medical condition that makes the prisoner permanently unable to perform activities of basic daily living, requiring 24-hour care, and if that incapacitation did not exist at the time of sentencing, or
A prisoner would require acute long-term inpatient rehabilitation services, and
A placement option for the prisoner is secured and SSA determines the prisoner’s eligibility for MC or other medical coverage.

Note: If at any time the court determines, based on a medical examination, that the probationer’s medical condition has improved to the extent that the probationer no longer qualifies for medical probation, the court may return the probationer to the custody of the sheriff.

County Inmate Compassionate Release and Medical Probation Eligibility Effective Dates and Termination Dates

When a new application is received for Compassionate Release/Medical Probation the effective eligibility date is the first day of the month of application.

When the client is transitioning from MCIEP the eligibility effective date will be the date of the transfer to Compassionate Release/Medical Probation. The termination date for MCEIP is the day before the transfer to Compassionate Release/Medical Parole. If the individual must be placed back on MCEIP from the Compassionate Release/Medical Parole aid code, the eligibility effective date for MCIEP will be one day after the termination date of the Compassionate Release/Medical Parole eligibility.

Termination of the Compassionate Release/Medical Probation aid code must be at the end of the month following an appropriate Notice of Action.

Note: If the termination is due to death, the date of death should be used as the termination date.

County Inmate Aid Code Medical Probation and Compassionate Release

The following aid codes are used for county medical probation and compassionate release:

Medical Probation and Compassionate Release Aid Code

Aid Code	Description
K6	"(Newly Eligible) Title XIX, Medi-Cal No Share of Cost (SOC) County Compassionate Release/Medical Probation Program Inmates. Citizen/satisfactory immigration status individuals aged 19 through 64 years with income 0 to 138% FPL, including disabled/blind with income 128% to 138% FPL. Full Scope - covers all Medi-Cal covered services, including mental health services."
K7	"(Newly Eligible) Title XIX/Title XXI, Medi-Cal No SOC for County Compassionate Release/Medical Probation Program Inmates. Undocumented/unsatisfactory immigration status individuals aged 19 through 64 years with income 0% to 138% FPL, including disabled/blind with income 128% to 138% FPL. Restricted Scope - Medi-Cal benefits limited to all Medi-Cal covered emergency, including mental health (Title XIX), and all pregnancy-related (Title XXI) services only."
K8	(Not Newly Eligible) Title XIX, Medi-Cal No SOC for County Compassionate Release/Medical Probation Program Inmates. Citizen/satisfactory immigration status individuals aged 19 through 64 years, including disabled/blind (not on SSI), with income 0% to 128%. Full Scope - Covers all Medi-Cal covered services, including mental health services.
K9	(Not Newly Eligible) Title XIX/Title XXI, Medi-Cal No SOC for County Compassionate Release/Medical Probation Program Inmates. Undocumented/unsatisfactory immigration status individuals aged 19 through 64 years, including disabled/blind (not on SSI) with income 0% to 128% FPL. Restricted Scope - Medi-Cal benefits limited to all Medi-Cal covered emergency, including mental health (Title XIX), and all pregnancy-related (Title XXI) services only.