Inmates get stellar medical care on your dime (WBBH-FL)

Inmates get stellar medical care on your dime
Last updated on: 3/19/2008 6:34:57 PM by Michelle Burdo


LEE COUNTY: Many people struggle to afford basic necessities right now, possibly skipping a needed visit to the doctor because they fear the bill. So why are you paying millions of dollars for inmates to get free medical service?
And how can it be that jail features some of the best healthcare around?
You may be outraged that convicts are getting free healthcare, but it's the law.
"I'm a taxpayer also, but the law is the law," said Lee County sheriff Mike Scott.
Federal law mandates taxpayers pay millions of dollars to give criminals, and those awaiting trial, free care.
Last year that bill was $6 million in Lee County - next year it'll be $9 million.
And it's not just treatment of the common cold.
"It could be a person with a simple rash fungus," said Captain Tom Eberhardt of Lee County Jail operations.
Treatment can be as extensive as dialysis, surgery and even chemotherapy.
It doesn't stop there - while some Americans struggle to afford a trip to the dentist, inmates wait for a free visit.
"There's no option. It's just that simple," Scott said.
Inmate Teodor Buda is a prime example. Buda was shot during a confrontation with a deputy in Lehigh Acres last month.
You're paying for his hospital stay, drugs, surgery costs and all the overtime for the guards to watch him 24/7.
Lee County is even building a new ward because so many inmates need medical care.
The sheriff admits some people are so desperate they commit crimes just for the free medical service.
When asked if there have been cases of people committing crimes to get medical care, food or shelter, he responded, "I'd say absolutely, unequivocally."

SO WHAT ABOUT ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS?
Many taxpayers who are learning about the stellar medical care of the incarcerated are likely a bit ticked. And you may be hoping your money isn't being spent to also give illegal immigrants better medical treatment than many U.S. citizens get.
Brace yourself.
We asked the sheriff how inmates who are illegal immigrants impact his increasing healthcare costs.
He estimates about 10 percent- 250 inmates - are illegal. But it's tough to pinpoint who they are.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) know of 75 inmates who will be shipped back to their homeland.
But their process to identify these suspects is lengthy - so they sit behind bars... getting the same free treatment everyone else gets.
"In our world, an inmate is an inmate is an inmate," Scott said. "We can't go through and say, 'That guy's illegal, we're gonna let him die in the jail cell... can't do it."
By law the sheriff is obligated to give every inmate healthcare - whether it be filling a cavity or providing cancer treatment - and it all happens on your dime.