NCJ Number
206927
Journal
Law and Order Volume: 52 Issue: 8 Dated: August 2004 Pages: 116-118
Date Published
August 2004
Length
3 pages
Annotation
This article outlines possible reasons for the increase in inmate health care costs and suggests some strategies for reducing these costs.
Abstract
A May 1999 study sponsored by the National Institute of Justice examined factors that contribute to rising inmate health care costs. The study and the Bureau of Prison officials interviewed identified three areas that have contributed to the increase in total inmate health care costs in the last several years: the general aging of the inmate population; inflation in the medical services industry; and an increase in the number of inmates with drug-related conditions such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and kidney disease. One strategy for dealing with this rising cost of inmate health care is to use private contract providers of health care. Firms such as Correctional Medical Services (CMS) focus exclusively on providing inmate health care. CMS, the Nation's leading provider of contract health care services to prisons and jails, designs a wide range of correctional health care programs and services to meet individual client needs. In addition to providing better care and a more accurate budget line item, contracting with a health care vendor can help prevent health-related lawsuits. CMS emphasizes preventive care and early attention to inmate health conditions, which not only enhances inmate health but also reduces the costs associated with advanced diseases. Another strategy is to provide appropriate health care in less expensive prison health care wards rather than in local hospitals. Specific types of medical treatment can often be managed most cost effectively at a medical facility within the prison system or through a contractual provider on the prison site.