By C1 Staff
BURNET, Texas — Burnet county commissioners will be using emergency funds to pay about a third of a nearly $1 million bill for an inmate’s cancer treatment cost.
The Daily Trib reports that the full bill was $900,000 and the county will foot $284,000 of the cost. Further details on the treatment or identity of the inmate are prohibited from release by HIPAA.
“For that to just hit you out of the cold like that, we just had to come up with the money,” said Burnet County Precinct 2 Commissioner Bill Neve. “I disagree with that, too.”
Burnet County Judge Donna Klaeger said they would continue to negotiate the cost down as much as possible.
County commissioners typically budget about $60,000 per year to handle all medical expenses for inmates. The county will dig into an emergency fund of about $250,000 to help pay the medical bill.
Neve said he wants the county to consider protocols to anticipate or prevent such expenses. All commissioners except Neve voted to pay the bill.
“If an inmate has a problem like that, I don’t think the county should pay for it, but the law says we have to. In the past, when we’ve had something like that happen, when we know it’s going to be a big bill, we bond him out,” he said.
“I’ve asked Texas Association of Counties to look at legislation to see if there’s a way to stop these sorts of things.”
Jail employees are bound by state law enforced by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards, according to Burnet County Sheriff W.T. Smith.
“We have registered nurses and LVNs that work at the jail. … If they say the inmate needs to see a doctor, then the doctor comes in, and if the doctor says there needs to be a treatment, then we’re obligated to provide the care for them,” Smith continued.
“Ultimately, if you’re refusing to treat inmates, they could de-certify your facility and you couldn’t hold anybody.”