Nov 28, 2007 4:26 pm US/Eastern
Official: Law For Inmate Health Care Should Change
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) ―
There's reaction to a KDKA Investigation that discovered taxpayers in Allegheny County are spending $2 million to $3 million a year for state-of-the-art medical care for inmates at the county jail.
And while inmates need and by law must get this care, Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato says he is tired of local taxpayers footing the bill.
He says county taxpayers shouldn't be responsible for providing this level of care to inmates and he aims to do something about it.
When the county built the jail, they also built an infirmary to treat sick or injured inmates, but its capabilities are limited.
"We can do X-rays, we can do dialysis and things like that," Warden Ramone Rustin said.
As a result, dozens of inmates with more serious problems are sent out to local hospitals each year where under sheriff's guard they undergo surgical procedures and receive specialized care.
"I think it's outrageous," Onorato said.
According to records obtained by KDKA, dozens of inmates are racking up individual tabs of $50,000, $100,000 and even $150,000 for treatments they could never hope to get if they weren't in jail.
"The injustice here is that you almost get a benefit for being incarcerated," Onorato said.
Most inmates don't have health insurance but would be eligible for Medicaid or Medicare in the outside world. But once they go to jail under federal or state law, they're no longer eligible for Medicaid or Medicare.
"Well now you see what we have to deal with. It's another great example of unfunded mandates put upon us by the federal government, state government that just isn't fair to the taxpayers of Allegheny County," Onorato said.
He says the county taxpayers need some relief.
"And I think what you really need here is law changes at the state level, federal level, that don't dictate these requirements on us that are unfunded," Onorato said.
The county chief executive says he'll go to Harrisburg to try to get changes in the law and that he'll also examine any and all alternatives to try to bring these costs down for the county's taxpayers.
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