Getting out

# Health

The gap at release is the risk. You leave with a limited supply of medication and no established provider.

The gap

## 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.

If you have a condition requiring continuous medication, this is the most urgent item in this entire guide. A gap of a few weeks is a genuine medical risk and a common one.

Keep reading — part 10 of 12

### [The part nobody prepares you for](/going-in/getting-out/the-part-nobody-prepares-you-for)

The logistics are solvable. Decision fatigue, hypervigilance, the gap, and the difference between desperate and humbled are harder.

**Need help with this? Just ask.**

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.

[josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Getting%20out%20question)

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.