In need of correction

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Michigan plans to change how health care is delivered to its 50,000 prison inmates. It's a reasonable response to horror stories of substandard medical treatment causing unnecessary suffering and deaths in the state's prisons.

The Corrections Department will switch to regional health maintenance organizations for prison care when the contract with the current private provider -- Correctional Medical Services -- runs out in March. The Missouri-based CMS has provided primary care physicians and other services in Michigan state prisons since 1998. Its dismal record here and in other states is reason enough to try a different approach.

Inadequate health care for prisoners doesn't strike sympathetic chords with the public, especially when many law-abiding citizens are struggling to afford care themselves. Shoddy medical care for inmates is often shrugged off as a given, or even deserved. But people in the state's custody are the state's responsibility. Their basic health needs must be met. The level of care provided should not be so inadequate as to result in avoidable deaths and lawsuits that can cost taxpayers even more. Lawsuits arising from current prison care are doing just that.

The case of 21-year-old Timothy Souder received national attention when CBS' "60 Minutes" broadcast the story about his death last year in a Jackson prison. The segment was rebroadcast this past Sunday night. The mentally ill inmate, who received 1-to-4 years for shoplifting, died of heat and thirst after being restrained on his urine-soaked bed for most of the last four days of his life. His family has filed a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against the state.

In May, a federal jury awarded the family of Jeffrey Clark $3 million in a lawsuit over the inmate's death in 2002. He died of thirst in the Bellamy Creek Correctional Facility in Ionia, where he was serving time for robbery. Another inmate, 41-year-old Lloyd Martell, who died of colon cancer in February, also filed suit. He was granted a medical parole last August to go home and die. His lawsuit claims that his cancer could have been contained but went untreated.

Other instances of inmates having limbs amputated because they didn't get treated for diabetes, of dying from kidney failure or a bleeding ulcer because symptoms were misdiagnosed or simply ignored are not acceptable. People are sent to prison for punishment, but they still deserve to be treated humanely. They certainly are not in a position to seek medical treatment on their own.

Adequate medical care is not just about compassion for sick inmates. It's also about protecting the public. Inmates not treated for infectious diseases while in prison -- such as HIV, hepatitis and tuberculosis -- can spread those diseases to the public after they are released.

No one is talking about sending inmates to the hospital for stubbed toes and hangnails. However, leaving prisoners with life-threatening illnesses and diseases to languish in their cells without treatment or even a doctor's visit is not humane and shouldn't be allowed to occur.

Michigan is paying a hefty sum to provide inmate health care -- an estimated $300 million this year. That's about $6,000 per inmate. Reducing those costs should be a priority. The Department of Corrections believes the regional HMO system can deliver better care for less money than the statewide, managed-care system now in place. It's certainly worth a try to find out.



In need of correction Tuesday, July 24, 2007 Michigan plans to change how health care is delivered to its 50,000 prison inmates. It's a reasonable response to horror stories of substandard medical treatment causing unnecessary suffering and deaths in the state's prisons. The Corrections Department will switch to regional health maintenance organizations for prison care when the contract with the current private provider -- Correctional Medical Services -- runs out in March. The Missouri-based CMS has provided primary care physicians and other services in Michigan state prisons since 1998. Its dismal record here and in other states is reason enough to try a different approach. Inadequate health care for prisoners doesn't strike sympathetic chords with the public, especially when many law-abiding citizens are struggling to afford care themselves. Shoddy medical care for inmates is often shrugged off as a given, or even deserved. But people in the state's custody are the state's responsibility. Their basic health needs must be met. The level of care provided should not be so inadequate as to result in avoidable deaths and lawsuits that can cost taxpayers even more. Lawsuits arising from current prison care are doing just that. The case of 21-year-old Timothy Souder received national attention when CBS' "60 Minutes" broadcast the story about his death last year in a Jackson prison. The segment was rebroadcast this past Sunday night. The mentally ill inmate, who received 1-to-4 years for shoplifting, died of heat and thirst after being restrained on his urine-soaked bed for most of the last four days of his life. His family has filed a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against the state. In May, a federal jury awarded the family of Jeffrey Clark $3 million in a lawsuit over the inmate's death in 2002. He died of thirst in the Bellamy Creek Correctional Facility in Ionia, where he was serving time for robbery. Another inmate, 41-year-old Lloyd Martell, who died of colon cancer in February, also filed suit. He was granted a medical parole last August to go home and die. His lawsuit claims that his cancer could have been contained but went untreated. Other instances of inmates having limbs amputated because they didn't get treated for diabetes, of dying from kidney failure or a bleeding ulcer because symptoms were misdiagnosed or simply ignored are not acceptable. People are sent to prison for punishment, but they still deserve to be treated humanely. They certainly are not in a position to seek medical treatment on their own. Adequate medical care is not just about compassion for sick inmates. It's also about protecting the public. Inmates not treated for infectious diseases while in prison -- such as HIV, hepatitis and tuberculosis -- can spread those diseases to the public after they are released. No one is talking about sending inmates to the hospital for stubbed toes and hangnails. However, leaving prisoners with life-threatening illnesses and diseases to languish in their cells without treatment or even a doctor's visit is not humane and shouldn't be allowed to occur. Michigan is paying a hefty sum to provide inmate health care -- an estimated $300 million this year. That's about $6,000 per inmate. Reducing those costs should be a priority. The Department of Corrections believes the regional HMO system can deliver better care for less money than the statewide, managed-care system now in place. It's certainly worth a try to find out. Š2007 Grand Rapids Press Š 2007 Michigan Live. All Rights Reserved.