By C1 Staff
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A new analysis shows that the influx of inmates into county jails is raising the cost of health care within those facilities.
Sacramento Bee reports that the state’s 10 biggest counties spent $560 million on medical and psychological care for inmates last fiscal year, a 16 percent jump over the fiscal year that ended in 2011.
Figures collected by the state over roughly the same period show a similar pattern for all counties: Spending on medicine is up 21 percent and out-of-jail medical visits have increased 32 percent.
The increases are due mainly to low-level offenders being sentenced to county jails instead of state prison, which is California’s response to a federal court order calling for a reduction in prison overcrowding.
The newly-added offenders spend longer in prison and are in worse condition, suffering from long-term drug abuse and other unhealthy behavior.
There has been a rise in all medical costs, beside the additional pressure put on facilities from the state action. The state has helped counties with the costs, including allowing them to buy medicine through the state at lower bulk rates and is developing a plan to allow counties to use the Affordable Care Act to enroll inmates to reduce correctional health costs.
Under the act, inmates receiving hospital care for more than 24 hours are eligible for coverage, as are inmates before and after their incarceration.
The state provided about $1 billion to the counties last year to incarcerate the new inmates and supervise parolees previously watched by the state. Counties decide how to spend the money, and leaders have said the appropriation doesn’t cover all needs.
The attorneys who sued the state over care in prisons are now pushing for an expansion of health care in county jails. The Prison Law Office has filed federal lawsuits challenging the level of medical and psychological care in Fresno and Riverside counties, and is considering a similar action in San Bernardino County. Another Bay Area law firm has filed suit against Monterey County.