California Needs Prison Health Care Reform Essay

The U.S. Supreme Court has acknowledged the growing distress, deeming California’s state prisons unconstitutionally crowded. In 2009, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled out that California’s 33 state prisons have become too overcrowded to the point where there are no sufficient medical and mental health care available (Realignment AB 109, 2013). The U.S. Supreme Court determined that the 33 state prisons are violating constitutional exclusions, under the Eighth Amendment, against unfamiliar punishment and brutality, says the American Legislative Exchange Council, an American organization producing model policies for state legislators (ALEC, 2010).

The Bureau of Prisons carefully lists the inmate’s health care rights and the inmate’s responsibilities in order have access those rights. In the Federal Correction Institution at Terminal Island, California the Inmate Information Handbook lists out the specific rights to health care access each inmate has and then the handbook lists the inmate’s responsibility to be able to access the health care. An example is the inmate has the right to access all services on Terminal Island including medical, dental, and all support services but the

Linder and Frederick J. Meyers. This article starts with a story about an inmate who found out he had cancer while incarcerated. Then, it goes on to incorporate his story throughout the article in interview form to provide inside information on the treatment of prisoners. Most inmates come in with addictions and substance abuse, no access to health care, homelessness, and untreated mental illnesses (Linder and Meyers 895). They blame this on the lack of medical health that’s available to the general population. According to Linder and Meyers, “Inmates and the free-living populations share 6 of the 10 leading causes of death: heart disease, cancer, cerebrovascular disease, respiratory disease, influenza/pneumonia, and septicemia”. With the remaining four for inmates being liver disease, AIDS, self-harm and digestion

One side argues that the 8th amendments protects everyone from cruel and unusual punishment, overcrowded prisons are preventing that. They believe everyone is entitled to their rights even criminals. While the other side argues that prisoners have forfeited their rights. They say that the movement for prisoners’ rights has led to many superfluous lawsuits that cost taxpayers money. The article tells a story about when hurricane Katrina hit back in 2005, many prisoners were left behind in their cells deprived of food and clean water. Nearly 7,000 prisoners, 150 of which were teenagers. Eddie Fenceroy, a fifteen-year-old inmate, recalls that he stood for three days in water up to his chest. Pisoner’s were so thirsty they drank the dirty water surrounding them. Advocates of prisoners’ rights believe that this was wrong, and no human deserves this type of treatment, prisoner or not. However, people who oppose prisoners’ rights state that this is fair treatment, the prisoners are being treated how they should be. Supporters also argue that the overcrowding of prisons is causing unhealthy living conditions, 2.1 million are in jail right now in the U.S making the largest incarceration rate in the world. Early prisons believed that a prisoner forfeited their constitutional right; people who are for prisoners’ rights believe that by giving prisoners’ their rights back they will transition into

Another way to resolve this issue, would be to have each individual state come up with various health care plans in which inmates’ would be able to sign up and pay for with the money on their accounts, or having family members or friends pay for

inmate is very expensive to maintain as taxpayers are losing a lot of money, this loss of money

Healthcare is a big topic no matter how you view it, but when looking at it from the point of a person who is in prison, it takes on a whole new view. Those who are in prison have federal and state laws that say that the prisons must provide them with medical facilities for their healthcare needs. This paper will identify a governmental agency that regulates the healthcare that is provided to prisoners in an institution within the United States, along with the foundation of such an agency and who regulates the licenses, accreditation, certifications, and authorization for employment for those who work within one of these

There are approximately 1,600,000 million inmates are behind bars in America (Glazer, 2014, para. 11) . Without a doubt, much of state prisons are overcrowded, which can lead to, very dangerous situations and environments. Due to the overwhelming number of inmates incarcerated it is difficult to deal with medical and mental health problems in prison. If most inmates complain about not feeling well or have symptoms, medical condition or disease that is not immediately, they would get some form of medication and get turned life back without seeing a doctor for a proper medical exam. A clear majority of the health care professional that work in the prison systems are very under qualified to work in such dangerous and trauma environments like prisons

In 2006, United States District Judge Thelton Henderson ruled that federal oversight of the state prison system was needed after determining that an average of one inmate per week died as a result of medical malpractice or neglect (Californiahealthline.org). Prisons are sometimes very understaffed not to mention that they are not equipped to handle the different types of illnesses that are brought to the prison by

Going back to what prisoners lose and gain when they go to prison, the question was raised when taxpayers began to realize that prisoners get better treatment than the honest person. This was when the organ transplant situation was brought up and the process is incredibly pricey with Kenneth Pike, a convicted rapist, needing a $800,000 heart transplant. However, denying the said person of healthcare because he was in a terrible person violates the 8th Amendment and prisoners are unable to get healthcare insurance

The reality of this argument is that the society has to exhibit some compassion even for those who have broken its laws. The costs of health care in the prisons will rise well above the billions by the year 2019. In order to start reducing the cost states are considering

Most of the private prisons provide little to no health care. The Private Prison of Arizona was once filed a lawsuit after the inhabitants were completely disregarded. An inmate who

The best approach of viewing this case is employing the distributive justice concept. Basically, society should consider the benefit and injury containing rights, income, employment, and taxes of giving health care to prisoners.

Diseases, mental illness, substance abuse and the aging inmate population, all affect growing health care cost. Inmates have a higher rate of chronic and infectious diseases, such as AIDS, hepatitis C, Diabetes, hypertension and mental illness. These conditions are expensive to treat. Longer sentences are being

The state and federal prison systems have many inmates. These inmates sometimes arrive at prison with pre-existing conditions and many that are incarcerated for the long term develop serious illnesses during their stay. Inmates who reported a medical problem when they arrived at state prisons  across the United States in the year 2004 were 57.1% men and  43.3% women reported no medical problems upon arrival. (BJS 2018) Inmates who reported 1 medical issue when they arrived were 25.8% men and 28.6% for women. The Population that reported 2 medical issues is 10.0% for men and 14.3% women, and 7.1 % percent of men and 13.9% of women reported 3 or more medical problems In the same year in the federal system 62.5% men and 47.3% women reported no