Health Care Spending for a Prisoner

There is a very grey area when it comes to the discussion of the health welfare of the prison population and skepticism on how to handle it. The Pew Charitable Trusts writes a report and displays a chart in an article detailing prison spending on healthcare for the inmates. Texas, along with Illinois, has become one of the only states in the ENTIRE country that has REDUCED healthcare spending on its prison population. 

It’s interesting to see the morality behind such a move when other states are increasing their prison healthcare spending. While it is good, and even a right, for the prisoners to have adequate medical needs fulfilled, where does one draw the line? The reason for the increased rise in prison healthcare spending is because of a higher prison population and some people commit crimes with the sole reason being that they get better healthcare INSIDE prison than they do outside. It is a very semi-ironic idea to think about and interesting to discuss as to whether Texas, as well as Illinois, are saving money from prison healthcare, or putting human prisoners (including non-violent offenders) at an unnecessary risk.  

How much are we willing, as a state, to spend on healthcare? This article addresses some thinking points that are worth reading in order to understand how this will directly affect the state in a monetary and governmental aspect. With the Affordable Care Act in place, new healthcare rules and regulations being implemented, it’s all but guaranteed that healthcare will be a major topic for local governments to factor into their budget. Fair enough, right? We must all take care and protect the health of our children, our elders, our siblings, our parents, and our…prisoners?