State prison medical treatment called 'hoax'

[Cobalt Violet]

State prison medical treatment called 'hoax'

Wednesday, February 28, 2007
By Pat Shellenbarger
The Grand Rapids Press

http://www.mlive.com/news/grpress/index.ssf?/base/news-34/1172678116243210.xml&coll=6&thispage=1

LANSING -- Fredrick Heinz needed medical care to save his life.


Doing time in Marquette Branch Prison, he begged prison doctors to treat his hepatitis C, but was turned down, told it would cost too much, a friend, Jackie Deming, told a state legislative committee Tuesday.

When he was diagnosed with stomach cancer in November, Heinz asked for pain medication and was given two Tylenol in the morning and two at night, Deming testified. But when he asked for something stronger, the doctor took away the Tylenol, she said.


He was scheduled for cancer surgery, but then was transferred to another prison where the medical personnel said they had no record of his illnesses.

<snip>
His remarks were echoed by Gary Peterson, employed to schedule inmates' medical appointments at Marquette Branch Prison. Before the state privatized the medical care, the prison had three doctors, each seeing an average 25 to 30 inmates a day, said Peterson, a steward for the UAW local representing some prison employees. After CMS took over the care, the prison was cut back to one doctor seeing an average of eight to 10 patients a day, he said.




Republicans love to privatize everything. Even as people continue to die as a result, they keep pushing for more and more privatization. The state are ultimately responsible for the people in prison and are the one who will be paying settlements.

[acmavm]

1. Regardless of whether or not these men were incarcerated for

criminal activity, the treatment they received were human rights abuse.

Someone needs to be thumped.

[djg21]

4. I would be skeptical.

Many inmates have nothing better to do with their time than start frivolous and purely recreational or retaliatory lawsuits. They do so for free under the in forma pauperis statute, and hence, a lawsuit is nothing more than a lottery ticket or a means to bust the chops of those charged with their custody.

To be sure, the Eighth Amendment requires that inmates be afforded adequate medical care at State expense, and occasionally there are failings. However, the care provided to inmates in prison is often better than they could ever hope to get had they never been sent to prison. I wouldn't be so quick to judge the sufficiency of care provided to any inmate based upon one media report, and I certainly would be skeptical of the self-serving statements made by an inmate to the media.

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

6. Tylenol as a sole treatment for cancer is adequate care???

If you're a doctor I sure as hell won't be coming to you for my health needs.

[djg21]

10. My guess is that you haven't reviewed his medical records.

and hence you have no first-hand knowledge regarding the inmate's actual medical condition(s), the complaints he actually made to medical staff when seeking treatment for his real or imagined medical conditions, or the care that actually was provided to him. Hence, you have no clue whatsoever about anything you are spouting off about. My suggestion to you is to put aside your prejudices and preconcieved notions regarding prisons and be a bit more objective. Even the article that is the basis for this thread makes clear that prison officials offered a contradictory version of events.

[High Plains]

12. So, which prison do you work for?

[Cobalt Violet]

13. I'm guessing it's a lot of stock in Corrections Medical Services

Or Prison Health Sevices or any other for profit prison "healthcare" scam company.

[Cobalt Violet]

11. You sound as if you have constitutional protection against cruel and unusual punishment!

Stop that!:sarcasm:

They only way these privatize health companies with fixed contracts make money is to deny care. The more they deny the more the make.

[Cobalt Violet]

8. So the 51 year old dead guy isn't dead?

He would've gotten asprin for cancer and no treatment what so ever for hepatitis C outside?

[knitter4democracy]

15. I live in Michigan, and Hubby's an internist. It's not just one report.

This story has been in our local news off and on for years. The reality is, the prison medical system is scary, and the inmates get the worst care imaginable. Hubby had to treat a couple of inmates in residency when they needed to be admitted--he was horrified by what he saw.

There aren't occasional failings--it's the way things are in Michigan prisons.

[Cobalt Violet]

16. It's the way things are in many prisons.

I think the ones with the privatized health "services" are the killing people.

One companies cautionary statements included this as a inherent risk to foward looking statements disciaimer: "-- the Company's ability to limit its exposure for catastrophic illnesses and injuries in excess of amounts covered under contracts or insurance coverage;"

[knitter4democracy]

17. Which is really sad.

*sigh* Prisons, the way they are now, create more problems than they solve. Why can't we figure this out better?

[Horse with no Name]

20. That's the crux of the matter

The private prison system in Texas is a horror story.
The state run facilities get the best of care.
Hence, most of the state run are going private.

[EFerrari]

19. I would be skeptical too except I've dealt with the crap that passes

for care in the prison system. Self serving statements can also be true ones.

/typo

[aquart]

2. Another privatization catastrophe.

Unless death of prisoners is the desired result?

[Cobalt Violet]

3. They are making it impossible for HCV prisoners to qualify for treatment.

I have heard that the virus infects 40-60% of the prison population. At $20,000 a year to treat they just don't want to. They make it impossible for most who need treatment to qualify for it. I think for Correctional Medical Services the goal is prisoner death; It's cheaper.

Or some will get out before they die. By the time they get out of prison them may well need a liver transplant that could cost $400,000 and a life time of maintenance medications that could cost thousands a year too. There aren't that many livers to go around so many will die waiting.

[EstimatedProphet]

5. They're prisoners. They don't count as people.

:sarcasm:

The average Repig will not care about this at all though, because they really do see these people as unimportant because they are in prison. The average Repig will not be concerned about anything until it hits them directly, then they'll pitch a fit until they get what they want, then they'll go back to not caring about the system again.

[Cobalt Violet]

9. Someone always has to die for them to make money.

People better pay attention because someday some repuker will come up with a way to make money of their death and no one will be around to stop it or care.

[porphyrian]

7. Totally fucking unacceptable. Privatization NEVER works for anyone but those who profit from it.-n/t

[Cobalt Violet]

14. This is from a press realease of a for profit prison health company...

Where it is listing the risks of future profits:


"the Company's ability to limit its exposure for catastrophic illnesses and injuries in excess of amounts covered under contracts or insurance coverage;"


Very telling. :grr:

[Horse with no Name]

18. One of my nurse colleagues

worked as a jail nurse in Central Texas.
She told me that they had a 30'ish year old woman who was jailed for a non-violent crime (I think it was hot checks or something)and started having extremely heavy periods.
My colleague kept reporting it to the doctor and he wouldn't do any further testing.
Ended up, after 6 months she had cervical cancer. She never received treatment and she died.
My colleague quit. She couldn't stand watching a prisoner die before her eyes and not be able to help.
The "inmate" left a couple of small kids.
Very sad.

[Cobalt Violet]

21. That's terrible.

We have a gulag. There isn't any other way to see it. Privatization is turning everything into a gulag.