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| Inmates to pay for medical care |
| By St. Petersburg Times |
| Published: 09/11/2001 |
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Starting this month, inmates at the Citrus County jail will have to open their wallets if they want to visit a doctor. According to a new rule passed by the County Commission, inmates who can afford it must pony up a co-payment of up to $10 for a trip to the infirmary as of Sept. 20. The goal of the policy is to cut back on frivolous medical complaints, said public safety director Charles Poliseno. 'We're trying to eliminate some of the nuisance calls that inmates make when they just want to get out of their cells,' he said. Under the new plan, approved by commissioners Aug. 28, inmates will be charged for every trip to the doctor they initiate. The fee will be deducted from inmates' personal accounts, which are used to pay for amenities from the jail's canteen. It will cost $4 to see a nurse and $10 for a visit from a doctor, psychiatrist or dentist. There also will be a small fee for medications, blood tests and diagnostic procedures, such as X-rays. The money generated will go to the county to offset the cost of maintaining the jail, Poliseno said. Inmates will not be denied medical care based on inability to pay, Poliseno said, nor will they be charged for emergency care or treatment of pre-existing conditions, such as asthma or migraine headaches. The practice of charging inmates a fee for medical treatment is a common one, used widely in both the federal and state prison systems, and is credited by many prison officials with weeding out unnecessary calls for service and relieving overburdened medical providers, Poliseno said. But inmates' rights advocates say charging for medical treatment is dangerous and opens jails up to the spread of infectious diseases. 'In reality, this does block access to health care to prisoners,' said Kara Gotsch, a coordinator of the American Civil Liberties Union's prison project. Inmates frequently have drug or alcohol problems and are typically less healthy and have less money than the population in general, Gotsch said. And if given a choice between using their money for a visit to the doctor or buying something from the jail's canteen, most will spend the $10 at the canteen. 'This is a very, very vulnerable population,' she said. 'It doesn't make sense to discourage them from seeking treatment.' |
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