Governor Dennis Daugaard's FY2015 budget proposal includes a boost to this fiscal year's corrections budget of $4 million. The Governor says we need to pump $4 million more into our prisons to fix a "correctional healthcare shortfall" arising from "significant inmate healthcare events." His budget proposes an immediate transfer of another $1.5 million to establish a reserve fund for correctional healthcare.
In next year's budget, Governor Daugaard is asking for $18,284,647 for correctional healthcare, an increase of $2,446,226 (19.6% over this year's budgeted amount), again due largely to "significant inmate healthcare events." That branch of our corrections budget will employ 87.0 full-time equivalents.
So that's nearly eight million more dollars of the common wealth that we need to lock up in lock-up. Is there any way to ease that budget burden on South Dakotans?
We could stop putting so many people in prison (and lowering the incarceration rate is one of Governor Daugaard's goals). But until we stop throwing the book at people who might get sick, we've got bills to pay.
Our friends in Minnesota have a suggestion: put inmates on Medicaid:
A Minnesota law set to take effect next month means the federal government will pick up the tab on hospital visits by some inmates of Minnesota jails and prisons, a move that could save the state millions.
It’s the first in-state change in decades to a long-standing rule that deems inmates ineligible for Medicaid, known in Minnesota as Medical Assistance [Abby Simons, "Next Year, Feds Will Pick up the Tab for Minnesota Inmate Hospitalizations," Minneapolis StarTribune, 2013.12.13].
Guess what law makes this budget crutch possible?
Backers say the long-desired law was made possible in part by the Affordable Care Act, which expanded Medical Assistance eligibility to single adults — a demographic that makes up a large portion of people behind bars. Cost savings could run as high as $6.1 million for the Minnesota Department of Corrections, which operates the state’s prisons, and $5.5 million for the state’s counties, which pay for the jails.
Counties and the state will continue to foot the bill for medical care provided inside the detention facilities, which makes up the majority of the health care budgets.
The potential $11 million savings is “only a sliver of the cost, but a few slivers add up to real money,” said Julie Ring, executive director of the Association of Minnesota Counties, which pushed for the change [Simons, 2013.12.13].
Get the feds to pick up state costs—sounds like a South Dakota solution to me! Unlike much of the South Dakota state budget, our correctional health budget includes no federal funds. Accepting federal assistance to treat some of the single adults we lock up would ease our tight budget. But since this budget boost would come from the ACA Medicaid expansion, Governor Daugaard is unlikely to entertain that solution.
I was at a court hearing a couple of months ago and saw a young man probably 19 or 20 sentenced to 4 years in prison for distribution of marijuana. Made me sick to my stomach. His mother ran out of the court room crying. He was a non-violent offender with a job and supporting his child. We are demonizing good productive people doing stupid things. The prison industrial system loves those kind of customers....$$$$$$$$$$. It's all about the money...... Don't for get to tip Cory for earning the number 1 blog in SD. Thanks.
I am also deeply sickened for my home state: Land of Infinite Imprisonment.
Tara, I an quite sure that when our benevolent Denny goes off the China, one of the things that will come up is our cheap labor here in South Dakota. We have plenty of it in our prison systems and here is exactly how they work. You see they are two fold, with the first being the most obvious, incarceration and what can be done with the cheap help there. The second is the big one, what to do with a felon when they are released. Not much can be done as the job opportunities are limited. So now there is an abundance of cheap labor to work in tearing apart stuff to recycle and ship to, where else, China. Problem solved. As reports say of the costs of keeping prisoners costing some 37 thousand dollars per year per person, that is a huge load on a South Dakota taxpayer funded labor system. As noted by the young man who was sent away for 4 years, that means an additional burden on taxpayers as a whole for the Medicaid that the child will now qualify for. As long as we keep the money ball of drugs in the court systems, the longer we stay a third world state in an expanding economy. Take a look sometime at another prison industry that has to do with the monitoring of alcohol and drug treatments. Talk about a money ball, this thing is huge man. What all the money accumulated does is to hire more law and in order to stay busy, you can bet they do like our own AG does, make crap up as you go along, to get you convicted. The intent is to keep you in the system for the rest of your life.
Could the same 20% be increased in state employee's (and teachers') health care coverages, or will this obligation to look out for the welfare of others apply only to South Dakota's incarcerated - not to its employees?
The Medicaid expansion also seems warranted if SD is as interested in the welfare of its most poor as much as it is its incarcerated.
I have noticed reading the Springfield Times it seems an Ambulance is called to Mike Durfee Prison almost once a week for transport to Sacred Heart Hospital in Yankton. I don't know the circumstances but it must be expensive. The war on drugs seems like a disaster. We need to look at other options and get the feds involved in healthcare if possible.
I have no expertise on correctional policy but I'm impressed with the vocational training and other educational programs they offer at Mike Durfee State Prison in Springfield. Last time I read I don't think they had the resources to keep track to see if they were able to do follow up on how those former inmates were doing job wise for the skill the received. The SD Governors House program is a blessing for those looking for affordable housing. It's a great product!
What worries me are those privately owned prisons that have a financial incentive to keep those inmates in and throw their keys to freedom in a shark tank.
When I posted this a while ago, it was to shame the governor and his appointed lackeys. Apparently, Dickens is accurately describing this administration's heartless nature and inhumane priorities, Cory, as shown in your post.
"At this festive season of the year, Mr Scrooge, ... it is more than usually desirable that we should make some slight provision for the Poor and destitute, who suffer greatly at the present time. Many thousands are in want of common necessaries; hundreds of thousands are in want of common comforts, sir."
"Are there no prisons?"
"Plenty of prisons..."
"And the Union workhouses." demanded Scrooge. "Are they still in operation?"
"Both very busy, sir..."
"Those who are badly off must go there."
"Many can't go there; and many would rather die."
"If they would rather die," said Scrooge, "they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population"
I feel like a minority especially in the home state I love but healthcare in my opinion is a basic human right whether your incarcerated or not. Personally I feel we should have a single payer system like Canada or our European allies.
Medical bankruptcies shouldn't be happening. I could go on regarding this subject.
Pheasantland Industries (http://doc.sd.gov/adult/industry/) is responsible for taking away jobs form individuals who require supported employment. South Dakota Industries for the Blind was doing small assembly work for their neighbor Balance Systems Inc. until PI came in and underbid them. SDIB eventually closed because they couldn't get enough work to stay open.
I agree that inmates need work while in prison, and we as a society need to have inmates who have skills leaving the prison, but not at the cost of stealing jobs from non-inmates.
Take a look at the PI website. They have a very impressive range of services and they do excellent work.
Another little known fact is that inmates are paid $0.25 per hours, with a maximum daily earnings of $1.50. I know that some orderlies work 12-16 hours per day but only make that $1.50 max. Many of them are happy to be out of their cells and enjoy some fringe benefits like an extra food tray once in a while.
Hope Haven Ministries runs a wheelchair refurbishment shop out of the prison (http://www.hopehaveninternational.org/South_Dakota_State_Penitentiary_-_Hope_Haven_International)
Hope Haven also has some type of metal fabrication shop there too. I see trucks pulling in and out of the parking lot fairly often.
The problems detailed in the Inspector General’s report merely scratch the surface, as around nine out of 10 prisoners are held in state and local facilities.
ProudLeftWingNutJob, I didn't know that. Thank you and I agree that shouldn't have happened.
I would be willing to bet the inmates already receive better medical care than a lot of South Dakotans that aren't in prison receive. It seems like there are quite a few inmates that have letters to the editor in Argus. They are complaining about poor meals, poor medical care, poor whatever. Apparently they don't realize they are better off than the homeless and/or people living below poverty that do have homes.
Joan Brown, I agree with you completely. I think that it is ironic, that at the same time the Governor announced this increase in the budget, he also announced that at this time, he is still unwilling to spend half that amount to get full Medicaid coverage for the State, which would bring in about 90 to 100 million dollars into the State's healthcare system and take the newly covered folks off the dole for their healthcare, which is ultimately paid by those who have health insurance. That is why our health insurance in SD is so much higher than elsewhere.
As a previous healthcare provider in the prison system, I have a unique perspective on this subject. When obtaining my medical degrees, I was taught by an amazing team of healthcare professionals. I was taught that health care is be given equally, across the board, no matter who you are. If I were to be working in a hospital setting, I would be expected to give the same health care to a vagrant, illiterate, penniless man as I would give to the millionaire.
So, imagine my surprise when I take a job in corrections and find out that if you are incarcerated you also get the same treatment regardless of who you are, but, now it also includes, regardless of what you've done. Only, in the prison system, equal care, across the board means the worst care you've ever seen and everyone gets it.
I was appalled at how the health care team/mental health care team/social workers treated the prisoners. I realize they are in a prison system, that they are criminals, that they are manipulative, and so on; but, that doesn't make it so they feel less pain, or don't get as sick, or shouldn't have the same care as if they were on the outside. I witnessed things that were minor and major; things that would have made many medical professionals lose their license to practice if they were in a clinic on the outside of the walls.
What I was taught wasn't allowed to be practiced there; I wasn't allowed to treat them as I would any other patient, in fact I wasn't allowed to give them the most basic of care most of the time. I didn't survive in that environment; I couldn't ethically and morally keep practicing medicine there, so after just 30 days, I resigned.
Huge changes need to be made in regards to the health care in our prison system. I cannot, with a good conscience treat any human any different than another human. I hear arguments all day that they are criminals and deserve less than a non-criminal; but, in the world of medicine, my world, I beg to differ.
WestRiver thank you for sharing your experience! That's very interesting and like you mentioned a unique perspective. I realize some inmates can and will be manipulative or abuse the system but how is giving them substandard care and treat them as such help with their rehabilitation? Wouldn't it just further harden them? Wouldn't good standard preventative care be more cost effective in the long run after they serve their time and are released and that's including the good quality mental health care? Doesn't a large considerable percent of the prison population suffer from mental illness which contributed to their incarceration?
Want a full time job with healthcare*?
Commit a felony!
Prison Industries: Slavery of the New Millennium.
* workers comp and accidental death benefits not available
Barry can you please explain what your trying to say?
Thanks Lynn. Yes, it would greatly benefit them if they received quality health care, including mental-health care while they were incarcerated. Of course, you are right, the majority of inmates do suffer from mental health problems, some before they were incarcerated and some due to incarceration. I would venture to say, the majority of inmates are mental health patients behind bars with limited availability to a mental health professional, with less creature comforts, and less health care than those who are in say Yankton. It's just another mental health care facility without saying so.
West River, that's a valuable story. We don't sentence criminals to sickness and physical pain. We sentence them to a loss of their liberty. We still have an obligation to care for their medical needs, just as we do to feed and clothe them. We could take care of those needs more affordably with federal help.