FILE - In this July 21, 2010, photo, employees leave the front gate of the Mississippi State Penitentiary in Parchman, Miss. An inmate at the Mississippi prison that was a focus of recent deadly unrest was found hanging in his cell by two corrections officers over the weekend and pronounced dead, a coroner said Sunday, Jan. 19, 2020. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)
- In the bill, the Mississippi Department of Health will be tasked with conducting a “comprehensive correctional services review” of all medical care provided to state inmates.
Inmates in Mississippi prisons may have better access to healthcare if a bill that passed out of House of Representatives on Thursday becomes law this session.
State Representative Becky Currie (R) introduced HB 1474, describing the measure as an attempt to fix the failing healthcare system in the state’s correctional facilities, specifically those that house state inmates.
“I spent a lot of time this summer going from prison to prison and being in contact with a lot of people and this is what we came up with,” Currie said.
In the bill, the Mississippi Department of Health will be tasked with conducting a “comprehensive correctional services review” of all medical care provided to state inmates.
To conduct that review, the Department of Health will be granted access to all medical records kept on file by the Mississippi Department of Corrections and the third-party contractor(s) tasked with providing that care. That review will be conducted in all facilities where state inmates are housed, including state penitentiaries, county jails, privately managed prisons and regional jails. Any facility housing state inmates will be required to comply with the review, Currie described.
The focus of the review will be on the quality of care provided to inmates, specifically as it relates to patient outcomes, the level of access those inmates have to medical care, and the condition of the facilities where care is provided.
Some of the deficiencies Rep. Currie hopes to cure with the bill includes inmates being charged for medical care, lacking triage protocols, and the lack of a hepatitis C prevention program.
“Inmates right now, if they ask to see a physician or nurse practitioner, they are charged $10 a visit if they receive medicine, and $6 a visit if they do not,” Currie explained. “We pay for their healthcare. Last year we paid $109 million, and this year it’s going to be $119 million, and we’re asking someone who has no money to pay for healthcare and that will stop as soon as this bill passes.”
To set the stage for effective record keeping, the bill would require all applicable facilities to employ a kiosk or tablet, which will be used by inmates to request medical care. The electronic system is to allow the Department of Health to see if someone requested medical care and did not receive it.
“I’m asking in this bill to make it a legal part of their medical record, if they didn’t get seen we want to know why,” Currie elaborated. “And also, within 24 hours, every medical person in the world much less the state knows that you triage those sheets when you get them.”
The bill also aims to ensure inmates receive their necessary medication prior to leaving the prison to conduct their daily work. Currie said scheduling conflicts between the inmates and medical staff have led to instances of inmates not receiving medicine for diabetes or mental health needs.
“We’re going to settle that,” Currie said. “We’re going to have them get their medicine and move on about their day.”
She also wants a medical professional on staff 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to ensure care can be provided when needed.
Rep. Currie said Governor Tate Reeves (R) has said he wants to hire an out-of-state firm to conduct a similar review, but she has reservations about taking that path.
“You know, the out-of-state firm that wrote this contract got us in the mess we’re in now with no oversight,” Currie added. “I don’t want an outside firm. I want to know what’s going on and I want to know that we fix it.”
The bill unanimously passed the House and has been double referred to the Senate Corrections and Government Structure committees for consideration.
