PRISONERS/MEDICAL CARE H.B. 4947: FLOOR ANALYSIS
House Bill 4947 (as reported by the Committee of the Whole) Sponsor: Representative Eric Bush
House Committee: Judiciary and Civil Rights
Senate Committee: Families, Mental Health and Human Services
The bill would amend the Department of Corrections law to make prisoners responsible for a co- payment fee to the Department for nonemergency medical, dental, or optometric services a prisoner received at his or her own request. The fee would be determined by the Department. If the prisoner were a minor, his or her parent or guardian also would be responsible for a co- payment fee imposed under the bill.
The bill also specifies that a prisoner who intentionally injured himself or herself, and who received medical care for that injury, would be responsible for the entire cost of the medical care, rather than for just the co-payment. Further, the Department would have to determine whether those prisoners who injured themselves intentionally should be housed in a facility designed to allow on-site medical treatment of those injuries; within six months after the effective date of the bill, the Director of the Department would have to report to the Legislature on the feasibility and cost of implementing this provision.
Proposed MCL 791.267a Legislative Analyst: L. Burghardt
The bill would have an indeterminate fiscal impact on State spending and could reduce health care costs for the Department of Corrections.
During FY 1994-95, health care costs for prisoners averaged $3,395 per prisoner or nearly $136.0 million in total. Data on the amount spent on nonemergency care are not currently available. While the amount of revenue generated by the proposed co-payment is not expected to be significant, it could have the effect of discouraging the use of unnecessary health care services. To this extent, the bill could reduce prisoner health care costs.
Date Completed: 5-10-96 Fiscal Analyst: M. Hansen
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This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan Senate staff for use by the Senate in its deliberations and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.