Outsourcing In Health Care Essay

As incarceration rates rise, health-related outcomes do as well. From 1970 to 2014, the U.S. prison population has risen 700% (Vera Institute of Justice) and by 2001, one in three Black men are sent to prison during their lifetime (Bonczar 5). Before disregarding prison health, it is important to first consider the implications on all of society. If we took better care of our prisoners, the entire U.S. population would be healthier. According to epidemiological studies conducted by the Population Studies Center, if the rate of U.S. incarceration in 1973 remained the same, there would be a 7.8% reduction in infant mortality by 2003 (Wildeman 2). 50% of all prisoners suffer from diagnosable mental illnesses (James and Glaze 1). Some of the most

The Los Angeles County Sheriff 's Department is tasked with providing health care services to all incarcerated prisoners within a jail system which at present exceeds 18,500 inmates. Correctional Treatment Center (CTC) provides care and treatment for inmates requiring inpatient medical and or psychiatric care in this 196-bed rated medical unit located in the Twin Towers Correctional Facility in downtown Los Angeles. The inmate population is in poor health, largely due to the lifestyle choices of the inmates which often include substance abuse, violence, and living on the streets of Los Angeles. They require the same basic medical care that all residents of Los Angeles County require, including routine illness to advanced medical issues such as tuberculosis (TB), AIDS/HIV+, heart disease, diabetes, dialysis, paraplegics, and acute mental health problems. Additionally, problems associated with aging are becoming common as the jail population increasingly includes older inmates. In the wake of chronic overcrowding in the county lockups, the Sheriff 's Department has been struggling to provide adequate care for thousands of inmates, many of whom have never been treated, with illnesses ranging from tuberculosis to AIDS to schizophrenia. Reported rates of tuberculosis in jails and prisons are more than six times higher than those for the general population. Jails and prisons concentrate individuals at high risk for TB or noncompliance with therapy, including those who are

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 of the most controversial issues regarding the mentally ill and the prison system is the medical treatment received. According to the film, “16% of the prison population in the state of Ohio, which reflects a national average, are persons who have been diagnosed with mental illness.” Prisons began as an institution designed to rehabilitate, however, a vast majority of prisons throughout the country do not provide adequate medical care for their mentally ill inmates. However, the prisons that do possess adequate health care are most likely the first instance in which the inmates with mental illness have received any sort of treatment in their entire life. People with chronic mental illness need constant supervision which they cannot get outside of prison. Although inmates does not receive the most extensive treatment, the treatment they do receive is well beyond the treatment they would have received had they stayed out of the criminal justice system.

Public policy is an important part of Texas government and in this section sources will be reviewed that apply to it. What about health care for prisoners, is it important, and if not why is it a public policy issue? Well, it is important because Texas spends nearly five-hundred million annually on prison health care systems (Gilroy & Kenny, 2012), and that’s precisely why it’s a public policy issue. The theory is that the system set in place now is not adequate enough to actually provide the correct health care for the inmates to heal or rehabilitate; and that Texas is spending its money in the wrong places when it comes to health care in the prisons. Besides the enormous amount of money, the government spends on the prison health care systems why else do they care? By not providing adequate medical care to prisoners its violating their rights under the eighth amendment. According to Raimer, Murray,

Overcrowding, violence, poor nutrition, unsanitary conditions, and solitary confinement are all issues that contribute to public health consequences all over the world (Cloud, 2014). Being incarcerated exposes inmates to health risks such as risky sexual behavior with little access to condoms and shared needles for drug use and tattooing (Dumont, 2012). Compared to the general population, the people that seem to be incarcerated the most seem to come from poor communities, where there seems to be higher rates of chronic diseases. For example these diseases include the higher rates of obesity, diabetes, hypertension, asthma, hepatitis C virus, HIV, and syphilis all occur within correctional facilities. Furthermore, when these individuals return home, correctional facilities lack in providing them with access to valuable health care services and resources, and this ultimately further exacerbates the negative consequences of their health which contributes to population health disparities. Overall, public health agencies need to play a more active role for the incarceration

Private prisons have a negative effect on states and local governments. Unfortunately, the number of private prisons has been increasing since their inception in 1983 causing further problems. For-profit prisons offer no real benefits and are bad investments for states. Furthermore, private prisons beleaguer communities with high turnover rates that hurt local economies. The demands of these institutions put an excessive burden on the local community’s infrastructure. Similarly, private prisons strain the county and city legal systems. More often than not, spin-off industries and economic benefits promised by the for-profit correction industry fail to appear. Additionally, private prisons are allowed to cherry pick the least expensive

Although elderly inmates are receiving health care while they are institutionalized, they are not always receiving the proper health care that is needed. The overwhelming increase in the elderly prison population has caused challenges to health care administrators. According to Kuhlmann and Ruddel (2005), not only do elderly inmates have common illnesses such as high blood pressure, heart disease, cancer, dementia or other diseases that one undergoes as they age, elderly inmates are also affected by transmissible diseases due to overcrowding, unsanitary conditions, or unprotected sex. Health officials also have a problem treating elderly patients who are at the top of the list for being attacked by other inmates. Even if an elderly inmate is healthy when processed into the prison system, the stressors contribute to the declines in physical functioning ensuing in amplified health care. Kuhlmann and Ruddel (2005), states the only way that elderly inmates can receive proper health care is if public health practitioners and jail administrators launch an improved long-term

However, the article “No escaping Medical copayments even in prison” written by Michael Ollove states that the requirement of inmates to pay a co-pay will discourage them from seeking medical care when not needed. When incarcerated, spending time in the infirmary for minor ailments is a positive alternative to being in the general population. If payments are required to see a doctor or nurse prisoners will be deterred from

The subject of this paper will be a compilation of research on the privatization of American prisons. This will include the reasons for, the historical aspects of, and the ethical and legal problems that it can and has caused. The research methods that will be used to develop this research paper will be done through both classical use of books and use of internet-based sources. This topic is important for analysis because the privatization of American prisons is a subject that raises many ethical and legal questions on its legitimacy and effectiveness as a means of correction. One believes that the findings of this paper will show that privatization of American prisons is for the most part an ineffective means to run prisons

As state budgets throughout America become tighter because of rising costs, many are looking at private prisons as a way to reduce the cost in detaining inmates. Just like everything else in America there has to be a debate about it. There are those that are for the privatization of prisons and those that are against it. James A. Fagin introduced this topic in his text book CJ2013; he discussed the major selling point of private prisons, and the problems that states are faced with.

Around the country, the criminal justice system holds more than 2.3 million people behind bars. Even though having committed an offense, these people should be treated humanely. Although they do not possess all constitutional rights of citizens, they are granted some. The Eighth Amendment in the Constitution states, “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishment inflicted.” Any prisoner has a right to attain access to proper medical services while serving their sentence in jail, a right American citizens are normally not guaranteed with. However, the health care provided in prisons today can for various reasons barely be considered adequate, considering the poor conditions inmates receive

From my perspective, denying a human being medical treatment (even incarcerated peoples) reduces their self-worth to subhuman standards. In turn, the standard by which the prison system shapes their practices yields effects well beyond the actual prison walls. Though not always publicly announced, prison practices often come to be known by the bulk of the general public. Subjecting prisoners to sub-human standards of living has an indirect and perhaps subconscious effect on not only prisoners and those working within prisoners, but to all who become aware of such standards and practices. The ethical and standards from which a nation shapes their institutional practices sets a precedence for all standards of behavior within that given society. Thus, violent and neglectful prison practices cause an indirect diluting or

We will examine the health care prisoners receive, specifically focusing on mental health and the differences that are found between genders and countries in regards to how the mentally ill are taken care of. The prison system in the United States is the largest in the world and mental illness is disproportionately represented within the system. Studies suggest that within the prison system half of the incarcerated individuals have a mental illness, compared to the 11% of the general population (Hoke,S). Mentally ill individuals often find themselves in poor circumstances such as substance abuse and unemployment which makes it easier to recidivate. Four out of every 10 inmates released from prison recidivate in 3 years (Hoke,

Medical treatment within the prison system is appalling. Prisoners are often misdiagnosed and get the incorrect treatments. Paul von Zeilbauer, DETAILS ABOUT THIS FUCKER, cites two instances where two inmates were refused the proper medical care and died as a result. Zeilbauer states “In the two deaths, and eight others across upstate New York, state investigator say they kept discovering the same failings: medical staffs trimmed to the bone, doctors unqualified or out of reach, nurses doing tasks beyond their training, prescription drugs withheld, patient records unread, and employee misconduct unpunished,” (Zeilbauer 205). The company responsible for this misconduct, Prison Health, has distanced themselves from New York after paying millions