★  How It Works  ★

We are the traction.
Everything else is already out there.

The coverage exists. The community organizations exist. The mental health resources exist. What's been missing is something that makes sure each individual actually connects to all of it. That's IHAP.

Patient signing healthcare enrollment paperwork with provider
Inside the Process
Enrollment starts at intake. By release day, the plan is already in motion.
The Pathway

From intake to home — with real traction.

IHAP doesn't wait until release day. We start at intake, build the plan throughout someone's stay, and are there every day after the door opens.

HC
Healthcare Enrollment
The Healthcare Infrastructure
Licensed agents operate inside the facility through documented workflows and compliance-aligned operations — at zero cost to the county. At intake, eligible individuals are identified, eligibility is verified through federal and state databases, and coverage activation is initiated through ACA marketplace plans and Medicaid. Coverage continuity is confirmed through the release process, with full reporting on activation rates and documented county savings. For those entering the IHAP pathway, the handoff happens here.
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1
IHAP — Health Education
IHAP helps each individual understand their coverage — what it covers, how to use it, what it costs them (nothing for most). Health literacy is the bridge between having a card and actually getting care. Without this, coverage goes unused and the crisis continues.
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2
IHAP — Mental Health First
63% of people leaving jail have an untreated substance use disorder. 44% have a diagnosable mental health condition. IHAP connects individuals to mental health resources and recovery support before they're released — because the mind has to come first.
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3
IHAP — Community Connections
IHAP connects each person to the right nonprofits and community organizations at exit — housing, employment, legal aid, peer support. These are warm referrals to real people who are expecting them. Not a list of phone numbers. An actual handoff.
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Home — With Traction
Coverage active. Mind supported. Community waiting. A doctor scheduled. Housing confirmed. A peer on the other end of the phone. The individual leaves with real connections — not a pamphlet. That's the difference between a door opening and a life changing.
What Enrollment Unlocks

Real coverage. Real benefits. IHAP makes sure they're used.

When someone is enrolled in an ACA or Medicaid plan, they gain access to a full suite of healthcare benefits — many for the first time in their adult life. IHAP's job is making sure each person understands every benefit, knows how to use it, and actually does.

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Mental Health Coverage
Therapy, counseling, psychiatric care, and crisis support — all covered. IHAP connects individuals to mental health providers before and after release, because the mind has to come first.

IHAP ensures: Provider connections + mental health literacy
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Prescription Drug Coverage
Ongoing medications for chronic conditions, mental health, and recovery — covered from day one. IHAP helps bridge the gap so no one goes without medication during the coverage activation window.

IHAP ensures: Prescription assistance + pharmacy connections
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Substance Use Treatment
Inpatient and outpatient programs, MAT, and peer support — all ACA-covered. IHAP connects individuals to vetted recovery programs in their area the moment they leave.

IHAP ensures: Treatment referrals + MAT provider connections
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Primary & Preventive Care
Annual checkups, screenings, immunizations, and chronic disease management — all covered. For many people, this is the first primary care doctor they've ever had. IHAP helps them find one and use the relationship.

IHAP ensures: PCP connections + preventive care education
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Emergency & Specialist Care
ER visits, specialist referrals, imaging, and lab work — all covered. IHAP educates individuals on when to use emergency vs. primary care, reducing unnecessary ER visits and ensuring the right level of care.

IHAP ensures: Care navigation education + specialist referrals
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Dental, Vision & Wellness
Dental care, vision correction, and wellness programs are often included in ACA plans and Medicaid. IHAP helps individuals understand what their specific plan covers and connects them to in-network providers near where they'll be living.

IHAP ensures: Benefits education + in-network provider matching
The Force Multiplier

We train the people already inside.

IHAP doesn't need to put its own staff inside every facility. Instead, we train and equip the people who are already there — giving them the tools, language, and resources to make sure every person has a pathway before they leave.

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Correctional Officers & Staff
Trained to introduce healthcare enrollment and answer basic benefit questions during daily interactions. Officers already have the relationships — IHAP gives them the tools.
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Counselors & Case Managers
Equipped with IHAP resources to integrate healthcare and mental health planning into existing reentry case plans. Healthcare becomes a standard part of every reentry conversation.
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Chaplains & Educators
Trusted voices inside facilities — trained to connect individuals to IHAP's resources as part of their existing faith and education programs. Trust is already there; IHAP provides the resources.
Root Causes

What drives the revolving door — and how IHAP breaks it.

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Root Cause 01
No Coverage Means No Treatment
Until 2026, states could — and did — fully terminate Medicaid the moment someone was incarcerated. The Consolidated Appropriations Act (2024), effective January 1, 2026, changed that: states are now prohibited from terminating Medicaid during incarceration and must suspend it instead. When a person is released, their coverage can be reactivated — not restarted from scratch. But reactivation doesn't happen automatically. Someone has to be there to trigger it. More than 30% of adults with recent justice involvement remain uninsured — double the general population rate. IHAP is that someone: preparing every application and reactivation pathway during a person's stay so it's live the moment they walk out.
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Root Cause 02
No Care Plan Means No Safety Net
63% of people in jail have a substance use disorder. 44% have a diagnosable mental health condition. People with both have a 68% rate of returning to jail within 4 years — the highest of any group. These conditions don't go away at release. Without a care plan, a referral, or anyone to call, the next crisis lands them right back inside. IHAP builds that safety net before release day — a doctor, a care coordinator, a plan.
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Root Cause 03
No Stability Means No Future
You can't keep a doctor's appointment from a shelter. You can't manage a prescription without an address. In the first year after release, formerly incarcerated people average 3.6 emergency room visits — using the ER as primary care because they have no stable base to build from. Housing instability unravels every other form of progress. IHAP provides housing coordination and stabilization support for people most at risk, because a stable home is where everything else becomes possible.
National Standards

IHAP is built to meet the standard — before most facilities knew it was required.

IHAP's model isn't just effective — it's what the nation's top health, justice, and county organizations have formally called for. Federal law, accreditation bodies, and bipartisan institutional coalitions all point to the same solution. IHAP delivers it.

NCCHC — National Commission on Correctional Health Care
2026 Standards & 2024 Position Statement
NCCHC is the gold standard for correctional health accreditation in the U.S. Their 2026 Standards — the most significant update in a decade — now explicitly require facilities to assist individuals with insurance enrollment before release. Their August 2024 position statement on insurance coverage states:
"Jails should help potentially eligible individuals enroll in health insurance exchanges and develop systems for billing private insurance as a revenue source for health care services."
IHAP is the operational model NCCHC is calling for — built, tested, and running inside facilities today.
Federal Law — Effective January 1, 2026
Consolidated Appropriations Act — Section 205
States are now federally prohibited from terminating Medicaid upon incarceration — they must suspend it. When a person is released, their coverage can be reactivated immediately rather than restarted from zero. This landmark change closes the coverage gap that drives the highest-risk period after release — but reactivation requires coordination. Someone has to be there to make it happen. That's IHAP.
CMS — Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
Medicaid Reentry Section 1115 Waivers
CMS has approved Medicaid reentry waivers in 19 states, allowing coverage of pre-release services up to 90 days before an individual's expected release date. Phase 1 (state prisons) began January 1, 2026. Phase 2 — covering county and local jails, where IHAP operates — begins January 1, 2027. IHAP is already in position to serve as the enrollment and activation infrastructure when that door opens.
NACo + NSA — National Association of Counties & National Sheriffs' Association
Joint Task Force on Inmate Health Care & Recidivism
NACo and NSA — the two primary national organizations representing the county officials and sheriffs who run the jails where IHAP works — formed a formal joint task force specifically to address inmate health enrollment and recidivism. Their published conclusion: the absence of health care coordination at release is a direct driver of reoffending and cost to counties. IHAP is the solution their members have been asking for.

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Inmate Health Access Program
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Enrollment Disclaimer: IHAP is not an insurance company and does not sell, underwrite, or administer insurance coverage. All healthcare enrollment assistance is facilitated through HealthCred Care LLC, a licensed health insurance enrollment organization and affiliated entity. Enrollment in ACA marketplace plans, Medicaid, or other government coverage programs is subject to individual eligibility, state availability, and applicable federal and state law. IHAP and HealthCred do not guarantee coverage approval or the availability of specific benefits for any individual.