Posted by
John Caile on Sunday, December 06, 2009 3:18:20 PM
I doubt that anyone is surprised to learn that prisoners in jails and prisons get health care at taxpayer expense - we're becoming numb to such insanities. But most people would be very surprised, and likely a bit angry, to learn that in most jurisdictions, inmates, by law, are entitled to "the same standard of care as is provided in the community" at large.
And for some inmates, things are even better. For instance, you might think that those incarcerated in Southeastern Minnesota would have their medical needs met by the Olmsted Community Hospital, the same place where most local people of limited means have to go. But you'd be wrong - because, you see, in this part of the state criminals get their needs served by...
...the staff of the world renowned Mayo Clinic of Rochester, Minnesota.
You read that right - thugs, gang-bangers, drug dealers, rapists, and yes, murderers, are treated by one of the most prestigious medical institutions anywhere. From heads of state to oil sheiks to corporate billionaires, people gladly line up to pay for what many consider the finest medical care in the world. Naturally, the crooks don't pay a penny for any of it - you do. Not even Mayo employees get that good of a deal - they have to pay a deductible and a co-pay.
And we're not talking about everyday cuts and bruises here. Inmates get treatment for diabetes, hypertension, and even psychological problems, not to mention complex procedures like kidney transplants, which often require enormously expensive (and ongoing) medication.
But footing the bill for society's scum because of genuine illness is bad enough - what really frosts taxpayers are situations like the case of one Ismael Bugarin, a Dodge County man who is charged with killing his wife and young son. As a result of Mr. Bugarin's self-inflicted wounds (he slashed his own wrists), his medical bills have so far topped $120,000.
And according to the Rochester Post-Bulletin, while some outlying counties have actually seen costs go down, in Olmsted County (the same county where Mayo is located) the jail has seen its medical expenses for inmates go from around $360,000 in 2000, to over $1.2 Million in 2008.
The Bulletin also reports that a growing number of the medical costs are going for emotional disorders - the Olmsted County Director of Detention Services said that today, 30% of the people in custody have "serious and persistent mental illness." Which translates to bigger budget deficits - as Jamie Fenskie, Fillmore County Jail Administrator says, "their meds are so expensive, and most of them don't have any kind of health care [insurance]."
Now, if rising costs are a problem in a tiny Minnesota county, imagine how much money goes to treat criminals in big metropolitan areas like New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles. But, hey, no problem - just send the taxpayers the bill.
And if you think it's bad today, imagine a likely scenario under government run health care - the same politically correct bureaucrats who currently mandate "equal treatment" for prisoners will tell you that, sorry, your 11 year old daughter will not get the heart transplant, because a serial killer is "next in line" and "we cannot discriminate, you know."
Think that won't happen?
Think again...