From Inquest:
Exorbitant medical costs are a familiar burden to most people in the United States—but for those incarcerated in the country’s jails and prisons, these fees present a particular hardship. With little, if any, access to income, many incarcerated people struggle to afford the bills; when they can’t pay, they can accrue insurmountable debt. As detailed in the National Consumer Law Center’s (NCLC) report Medical Debt Behind Bars: The Punishing Impact of Copays, Fees, and Other Carceral Medical Debt, carceral medical debt—which takes a variety of forms—can negatively impact health outcomes, hinder successful reentry, and jeopardize financial security across generations.
Medical copays are one of the most common (and commonly known) ways individuals accrue carceral medical debt, but carceral medical debt can stem from a wide array of other sources. Whether it is everyday expenses, such as purchasing over-the-counter medications from the commissary, or emergency response charges (often referred to as “man-down” fees), incarcerated people are saddled with expenses in every facet of health care. Medical billing errors are common, as is the failure by prisons and jails to pay third-party medical providers. And the costs persist beyond release: both people whose sentences have ended and those who are on medical release bond must pay medical bills for any health issues incurred (or exacerbated) while incarcerated.
Recent policy developments aimed at addressing this country’s broader problem with medical debt offer some promising avenues for relief, but more work is needed to stop carceral medical debt from spiraling out of control. Advocates working to address carceral medical debt should look to models that successfully provide for low-income people’s health-care needs without contributing to their debt burdens, while also remaining wary of solutions that could worsen financial and health outcomes.
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