Inmate Healthcare: Rising Costs and Community Risks - Research Paper

Introduction

Inmate poses a threat to the community because of the infectious diseases obtained from their reckless behavior. The provision of adequate healthcare to inmates is critical for their welfare and the welfare of the communities they live with inmate people. Historically, since 1998 the state cost for inmate's health care services has been increasing (Fiscella, Beletsky & Wakeman, 2017). The increasing health care cost is influenced by factors, such as increased drug substance abuse and treatment, increased contagious disease, and mental illness. Other factors leading to increased healthcare cost for inmates is increased pharmaceutical costs and lack of proper outsourcing of drugs. Effective treatment of the inmate's physical and mental well-being reduces the likelihood of committing other crimes (Harrell, 2019). The purpose of this paper is to discuss and compare the reasons why health care services costs are rising in correctional institutions.

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The Pew researchers and correction of health care costs article outlines reasons for increasing health care services costs in the correction institution is aging inmate population, the increased number of infectious diseases, chronic diseases, mental illness disorder, and drug abuse and treatments (Harrell, 2019). The other reason is the unavailability of health care in areas of incarceration.

The increasing aging inmate population poses a more significant burden to the State that leads to the increased expense of health care services in institutions. They require more attention than a younger inmate because they are susceptible to other diseases. They are at high risk of chronic disease and mental conditions as the number of elderly inmates increases. They require adequate medical care, which increases the cost of health care. Incarceration individuals with this disorder pay twice as much as assertive community treatment programs. The percentage of an elderly inmate is estimated to be 67% compared to 43% of the younger inmates in prison (Fiscella, Beletsky & Wakeman, 2017). The number of aging inmates continues to rise in the correction system in the United States that place a substantial financial burden to the correction of health care institutions.

Secondly, the other reason discussed in the article is increased number of inmates with infectious and chronic diseases, mental illness, and drug abuse and treatments. Incarcerated inmates are exposed to various infectious diseases and substance abuse. To treat them require adequate medical and health care, which increases the cost of services. They are exposed to infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS and active tuberculosis. The researchers show the prevalence of the diseases is four times greater compared to the United States population. Inmates with these problems place a huge burden on the correct health system because they are expensive to treat, and they are associated with problems. In 2015, 9% of the inmate had chronic health problems and mental illness compared to 8% of the general population in the State (Fiscella, Beletsky & Wakeman, 2017). To reduce the burden in the healthcare hospital, the cost of treatment has increased dramatically over the years.

Third, the other reason discussed in the articles that leads to growing expenses is the challenge of delivering and providing health care services to inmates in prison, such as correction institutions distance from other caregivers. The prisoners are at high risk of substance abuse and treatments, exposed to infectious diseases, and communicable diseases (Harrell, 2019). To curb the expense enquired to provide services in the distanced prisons, health care imposes some cost that is suffered by the State, which is responsible for the provision of health care services.

The increase in health care is due to legal reasons. The State is mandated to provision leveled care, including the provision of health care services to the inmates. It should provide adequate health care because when the inmates are released from the prison there are likelihoods of spreading of the infectious disease to the community. The State pays $7.5 per inmate which is used in provision of health care (Harrell, 2019). The legislative officials and executive official are mandated to provide for appropriate health care services failure to violate the prisoner's amendments rights. This is a driver cause of the increasing health care cost. The correction costs represent 7% of the state expenditure which is used to prison health care which has been caused by increased health care expenditures (Harrell, 2019). The new technologies, drugs, and standards health care are driving high cost expenses to the health care correctional institutions. The increase in health care spending is legal because the State should provide medical treatment to inmates who are at a high exposure to infectious diseases. They require advanced treatment, which expensive hence an increase in health care costs to cut the state expenditure.

Conclusion

In conclusion, both articles outline the reasons for the increasing expense of health care services in correction institutions are the increasing number of inmates with infectious diseases, chronic diseases, mental illness disorder, and use of drug abuse and treatments. The second reason is the aging inmate population and the challenge of delivering services to the prisons due to the distance of hospitals and other providers. The articles also outline that it is a legal reason to increase the spending of health care in correction institutions to reduce the expenditure acquired when providing services to incarcerated inmates. To reduce the cost of health care services, the State should implement policies and invest in telemedicine to save money on specialized health care services and transportation.

References

Fiscella, K., Beletsky, L., & Wakeman, S. E. (2017). The inmate exception and reform of correctional health care. American journal of public health, 107(3), 384. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5296706/

Harrell, E. (2019). The Effect of Healthcare Transition Services on State Level Recidivism. https://cdr.lib.unc.edu/concern/honors_theses/j6731775s