Health care for jail inmates has led to some budgetary concerns for the Starke County Sheriff’s Department. Sheriff Bill Dulin told the county commissioners last week that what inmates pay for medical services isn’t covering the cost of providing them. “Currently, inmates are charged $15 for each visit for nurses, doctor visit, ventura dentist visits, mental health visits, and they’re also charged five dollars for medication that they receive,” he explained. “From January until now, we brought in $2,217 and some change. The way that it’s going now, it’s not sustaining what we’re doing.”
He added that simply raising those charges won’t help, since many inmates are unable to pay the fees as it is. County officials plan to look into using other funds, including the Jail CEDIT, to help cover the deficit of nearly $5,600.
Another challenge is that inmates with untreated medical conditions are coming into the jail, meaning it’s now up to the county to cover the cost of treating them. Dulin pointed out that two inmates currently need surgery. “This one guy, in particular, got into a car wreck a month ago,” Dulin said. “And now he’s coming in, and now he wants his arm fixed.”
Meanwhile, the sheriff’s department is taking steps to reduce health care costs. Dulin said he’s hired a dentist who’s willing to see inmates in the jail, saving the cost transporting them and several guards to a dentist’s office. But that’s led to another problem. The dentist’s bill apparently left out several important pieces of information, like which inmates were seen, when, and what treatment was provided.
County Attorney Marty Lucas said that could lead to some legal issues. “What I would want to see if you’re going to continue to work with the guy, definitely you got to, you just got to get that level of documentation because the trouble is then so we pay for the dental services and then the person says we didn’t give them dental services,” Lucas said. “We get sued for not giving them dental services after giving them dental services, we pay for the dental services, and lose the lawsuit, too.”
Those concerns have caused a dental bill of over $13,000 to be left unpaid until now. Sheriff Dulin recommended that the commissioners approve the payment, with the understanding that more detail will be required going forward.
At the same time, the sheriff’s department plans to help eligible inmates sign up to receive Medicaid benefits upon their release. The goal is to help former inmates get treatment for mental health and other issues, so they don’t end up back in jail.
While the commissioners supported the idea, Commissioner Kathy Norem wasn’t entirely convinced it would do much good. “It might help somewhere in a bigger city or somewhere,” she said, “but here, where we have nothing but drug addicts, it’s not a problem of them getting off their meds. They had too many meds.”
Dulin said the Medicaid sign-up program will be offered to inmates once a month and will cost the county $15 per person.
