Getting a Taste of the Pain

Feb. 1, 2006

Turn on any conservative radio station and you’ll likely hear a caller ridicule universal health care. The cold reality is that those who lack health insurance can’t afford to go to a doctor and let their medical problems fester. Those problems often turn serious and then they’re really expensive to treat. That’s when taxpayers get a taste of the pain.
Take for example, the cost of medical care for inmates who stay at the Grand Traverse County jail. Taxpayers’ cha-ching for last year: $267,700, according to figures provided by Dean Bott, the county’s finance director.
That includes $130,700 for prescriptions, hospitalization and emergency room visits for inmates with no health insurance. That’s double what the county paid just five years ago. The county also spent $137,700 for a full-time nurse, part-time nurse, and a contract doctor who visits the jail two to three times a week. Next year, costs will surely climb again. The jail has budgeted an additional $28,000 for a part-time nurse.
Inmates have tested positive for tuberculosis and HIV. They have arrived with heart, blood pressure and addiction problems. Many have gone for years without dental care. Historically, inmates have lacked health insurance because the kind of jobs they hold—odd jobs, painting, part-time work—don’t come with health care coverage. But the historic lack of health care is now turning into a much heftier medical bill because of zooming health care costs, said Lt. Dennis “Buck” Monroe, assistant jail administrator.
“The average person who comes to jail has health issues. They don’t have steady employment and health benefits,” Monroe said. “Even though a lot of them have good work ethics, their health care is not up to speed. Some can’t take a lot of time with their well-being. No time or no money or both. It makes a person think, ‘Geez, how were you even functioning?’”
Grand Traverse County Sheriff Scott Fewins said that some inmates take advantage of the free medical care by complaining about all the health problems that have mounted up over the years. The staff has to figure out what is truly necessary to treat to keep an inmate healthy versus what can be put off until the person is discharged.
If a person needs serious medical attention, the jail may discharge them and send them to the hospital. The jail is liable, however, for any medical problems incurred at the jail. A discharge is not an option if it’s a serious medical emergency and there’s no time for the paperwork. They also won’t discharge an inmate if he or she is suspected of a serious crime and is looking at a potential 20-year prison sentence. In that case, the inmate is hospitalized with police security—another big expense to county taxpayers.
Taxpayers aren’t the only ones who suffer from the astronomical cost of healthcare. The inmates are entitled to recreational time, but they no longer get to play volleyball or basketball. There were too many injuries, including broken ankles and chipped teeth due to head collisions. One inmate fell on his hip during a basketball or volleyball game last year and needed surgery. The bill came in at $17,000. Now the inmates are only allowed to walk around the gym. “We have absolutely minimized what they can do,” explained Fewins.
They’re not allowed to lift weights, either, but for a different reason—they don’t want any of the inmates getting strong enough to threaten the jail guards. Captain Robert Hall isn’t happy with the strict limits on what the inmates can do, and envisions turning the gym into an activity center with ping pong tables and foosball games.
Hall said it would be nice if the county were able to get health care coverage for inmates while they were here, which is currently not an option. Also nice, he said: health care insurance before they arrived.