Report: Prison health care costs rise, partly due to poor inmate tracking by corrections department
Source: Pat Shellenbarger, The Grand Rapids Press (MI), March 25, 2008 17:12PM
....... The average annual cost of medical care for each inmate increased by nearly 65 percent over the decade ending in 2006, according to a report by Michigan's auditor general. (.pdf) During that same period, the cost of medical care for the general public grew by a little more than 40 percent.
......... The Corrections Department could control costs by following its own policies and doing a better job of monitoring its contracts with the private companies that provide medical and pharmaceutical services in the prisons, the report suggested.
.......... The audit released Tuesday, however, said medical services in the state's prisons are as good as or better than those covered by Medicare, Medicaid and some privates HMOs, a finding that advocates for inmates dispute.
Just because a medical procedure is listed as covered doesn't mean the Corrections Department or its private contractor, Correctional Medical Services, will pay for it, said Penny Ryder, head of the American Friends Service Committee's criminal justice program.