In 2021, a new study argues that expanding Medicaid for former inmates through the Affordable Care Act could reduce violent crime recidivism.  The report examined how former inmates with mental health or substance disorders struggle to reintegrate into society if they do not have access to proper treatment for their illnesses.

The news comes following the 2020 Civil Rights protests, where there was a growing debate on the U.S. justice system, police brutality, and the carceral state.

CGTN spoke with Dr. Erkmen G. Aslim, Assistant Professor of Economics, Seidman College of Business at Grand Valley State University, and one of the authors of this study, to get a better understanding of the connection between Medicaid expansion and reducing prison recidivism and what it could mean for former inmates.

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