Health
The gap at release is the risk. You leave with a limited supply of medication and no established provider.
What to handle, and when
The gap at release is the risk. You leave with a limited supply of medication and no established provider.
- Ask for a copy of your medical records and your medication list before you walk out;
- release from incarceration is a qualifying event for health insurance enrollment, which opens a limited window — use it rather than discovering it later;
- Medicaid eligibility rules for people leaving incarceration vary by state and several states now begin coverage before release;
- find a primary care provider in the first month, not the first year;
- and handle dental early, because it is usually the thing that got worst inside.
The part nobody prepares you for
The logistics are solvable. Decision fatigue, hypervigilance, the gap, and the difference between desperate and humbled are harder.
These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. Answers are free, and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer.
I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out.
Somebody else is counting down to the same door. Pass it on.