Catastrophic Inmate Health Coverage

Skyrocketing health care costs combined with Governmental Responsibility to pay for inmate medical care has created serious problems in the budgetary process. Correctional systems must budget and manage enough resources to provide adequate medical care for inmates. While routine and expected medical costs for county inmates are a significant financial burden on any county's budget; these costs are generally planned for and budgeted. It is the unexpected and often very high medical costs of an isolated injury or illness that can be devastating for a county's budget. Many counties have found that the cost of caring for even one unexpectedly and seriously injured or ill inmate can easily exceed hundreds of thousands of dollars.