Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Criminal Law Blogs -> Grits for Breakfast

Criminal Law

: Grits for Breakfast

AIDS drugs, healthcare for elderly inmates driving TDCJ medical costs

By Gritsforbreakfast

Here's a mind blowing statistic about health care costs in Texas prisons that came out at yesterday's Senate Criminal Justice Committee hearing: A whopping 48% of TDCJ's total pharmacy budget goes to pay for drugs for inmates with HIV.Chairman Whitmire asked the Correctional Managed Health Care Committee executive director Alan Hightower to compile for him a list of the top ten most expensive inmates in terms of medical costs and their parole status. The assumption is that the state is eating high medical costs for inmates who could be released and treated safely in the free world. According to Sen. Whitmire, TDCJ recommends about 70 or more inmates per month for medical-based parole, but the parole board on average releases just 10% of them...continue to full post

Full post as published by Grits for Breakfast on April 03, 2008 (boomark / email).