Healthy Reentry Provides Medication to 1,000th Person Released from Alabama Prisons

ST. LOUIS, Feb. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- An innovative bridge medication program for individuals returning to the community after prison has served its 1,000^th person since launching in Alabama last May. Healthy Reentry aims to reduce the recidivism rate in Alabama by eliminating the medication gap that occurs when someone is released from prison. The program is a partnership between YesCare Corp, (Alabama's healthcare provider for the Department of Corrections), Alabama Department of Corrections, and Rx Outreach, a national nonprofit pharmacy.  

Through the Healthy Reentry program, individuals are released from Alabama prisons with 30 days of medication from YesCare and receive an additional 60 days of mental health and physical health medication at no cost through Rx Outreach. Medications are mailed directly to the person, eliminating transportation and cost barriers and providing coverage so they can get clinic appointments in the community.

"With my asthma and high blood pressure, I needed medications to make life much less difficult," says Larry Moore who was released last October from Camden Work Release in Wilcox County.

Another participant who asked we not use his name said, "The program helped me a lot. Even though I left the facility with 30 days of medications, I had no money to replenish it and my Medicare coverage hasn't kicked in yet."

"The reentry period is rife with challenges, especially for individuals with health care, mental health, or substance abuse treatment needs. A bridge medication program is essential for reducing risks and helping people connect with community resources," explained Dr. Beth Huebner, director of the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Arizona State University.

Since its launch, over 4,500 prescriptions have been dispensed, and approximately 40% of participants have received mental health medications. Program directors hope to improve public safety and provide a better continuity of care as people transition from incarceration. The program has had a tremendous impact on released individuals and indirectly impacts Alabama communities and families.

Ralf Salke, YesCare vice president of operations for Alabama, said, "Healthy Reentry not only improves the quality of life for individuals receiving bridge medications, it also improves public safety and offers potential savings to the state of Alabama. By providing returning citizens with medical and mental health medication, it helps keep them stable during release and transition them back into the community, effectively saving thousands of taxpayer dollars per year." 

The Healthy Reentry program was piloted in St. Louis in 2016 and expanded through private donations and grants to include all people released from Missouri prisons on parole.  From 2016-19, over 8,000 people received more than 40,000 prescriptions to help them stay healthy. The Missouri Department of Corrections chose to add bridge medications to the correctional healthcare contract based on the program's effectiveness. Besides Alabama, the program provides bridge medications for people released in Wyoming and will launch in Louisville, Kentucky in March. 

About Rx Outreach
Rx Outreach is the nation's largest, nonprofit, fully licensed, digital pharmacy and offers more than 950 medication strengths at affordable prices. Missioned to provide affordable medication to the underserved, Rx Outreach partners with hundreds of clinics and organizations across the U.S. to provide a crucial health safety net for those unable to access affordable medication. Since 2010, Rx Outreach has saved people in need more than $1 billion on their prescription medications compared to retail costs.

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SOURCE Rx Outreach