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| Lawmakers Approve DOC Funding Request To Cover Inmate Medical Costs |
| By wpr.org- Danielle Kaeding |
| Published: 06/14/2016 |
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The state Legislature's finance committee approved a Department of Corrections request Monday to transfer money earmarked for drunk driver treatment and monitoring to cover rising inmate healthcare costs. The DOC is projecting a roughly $5.4 million shortfall because of hospital costs not covered by Medicaid, as well as rising prescription drug and nursing costs. Hospital costs are expected to grow by $3 million from last year’s fiscal cycle. In addition, drug costs for medications that treat Hepatitis C and HIV are expected to increase by about $1.5 million while contracting for nurses is expected to go up by just under $3 million. "The Department has found on-going difficulty recruiting and maintaining permanent employees in health care positions due to a variety of factors including but not limited to a statewide shortage of trained personnel; market pressures which raise salaries in rural areas; and driving distance to prisons from urban areas," wrote DOC Secretary Jon E. Litscher in the budget request. Read More. |
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