Medical care for inmates is a major expense for prisons and jails.
In Washington County, for example, the sheriff's office spent around $500,000 for medicine, medical attention and hospital stays in 2013. Officials there say inmates often come from circumstances in which medical care ranks far down the list of priorities, leading to less-than-healthy living. When they're housed by the county, their medical needs cannot be ignored. Perhaps to no one's surprise, some inmates are actually better cared for in jail than they care for themselves when they're outside.
What’s The Point?
Privatizing medical care for jail inmates is worth a healthy discussion if it means law enforcement officers get to stay focused more on law enforcement.
It's the same at jails across the state. Providing medical care for people deprived of liberty is a legal necessity, but one that doesn't necessarily fit the interests or the skill sets of people who chose law enforcement because they wanted to actually enforce laws, not make sure Marvin the Child Predator gets his blood pressure medicine.
That's behind the proposal in Benton County to hire a private company to provide the medical care inmates need while they're locked up.
"We don't have the capacity to supervise a medical staff," Chief Deputy Rob Holly told the Benton County Quorum Court Committee of the Whole.
The sheriff's office has spoken with four companies specializing in inmate medical care. A representative from one told justices of the peace the county can save money by reducing the number of trips to hospitals and by providing more medical care in the jail itself.
It's smart for jail officials to look into privatization of inmate medical care. The public elects a sheriff and funds a sheriff's office with the goal of protecting and serving the county's residents and businesses. They legitimately expect jails to operate on lean budgets with no extravagances.
Medical care is no extravagance, and society has a responsibility to treat those in jail with common decency. Nonetheless, the notion of letting deputies be deputies while nurses and doctors handle the medical issues is attractive.
The challenge is this: The sheriff and the county are still responsible for what happens inside the jail. While it may be a contractural matter to turn over the day-to-day management of inmate medical care, the legal responsibility for that care rests with the sheriff. Whatever company is hire -- if one is -- will have to be closely monitored to make sure inmate care isn't influenced by profit motive above medical need.
The county should look seriously at the proposal.
Will Obamacare Help Inmates?
Could going to jail actually be good for your health?
Under Obamacare, it just might be.
The New York Times reported last week about a little-known side effect of the president's Affordable Care Act: Jails and prisons around the country are beginning to sign up inmates for health insurance under the law.
All debate over the merits of Obamacare aside, it's understandable why local sheriffs and state prison directors (in addition to anyone who has to budget for them) might see the president's signature legislative victory as a boon. An expanded pool of Medicaid-eligible inmates could save them millions.
According to the newspaper, Medicare does not cover standard health care for inmates, but it can pay for hospital stays extending beyond 24 hours. Counties pick up the tab in many instances when inmates need hospitalization.
Suddenly, the federal government looks like Santa Claus.
Commentary on 03/16/2014