Jail injury sparks talk of who pays for treatment

~ Scott County commissioners say the state should pay for state prisoners' medical expenses.

BENTON, Mo. -- When a prisoner from Scott County suffered a broken jaw at the hands of inmates while being housed in the Mississippi County Jail, a debate ensued over who would pay for medical treatment

With a bill totaling around $18,000, neither Mississippi County nor Scott County was inclined to pay.

"We felt we weren't responsible since it happened in that jail, in that county," said Scott County Commissioner Jamie Burger.

At the same time, another Scott County resident imprisoned in Mississippi County on a change of venue incurred medical costs of $4,500. The counties agreed that Scott County would pay the $4,500 expenses since they came from a pre-existing condition, not a jail incident, while Mississippi County paid for the broken jaw.

The agreement was reached after commissioners in both counties read state statutes and met together to discuss the costs.

But in hammering out the particulars of who would pay, Scott County commissioners were reminded once again of a cost they don't want county tax dollars going to -- the medical expenses of convicted prisoners lodged in their county jail.

"The state pays judges' salaries ... so we thought the state should pay for these inmates," said Scott County Presiding Commissioner Martin Priggel.

In the eyes of the Scott County Commission and the Missouri Association of Counties, the state government should be responsible for paying the medical bills of prisoners who are part of the state correctional system.

The state does pay expenses for those inmates housed in state prisons, but not for those convicted criminals who are housed in county jails.

"Our belief is that all those expenses should go along with those prisoners, but it's very expensive," said Dick Burke, executive director of the Missouri Association of Counties.

Before Gov. Matt Blunt took office, Burke said, the state legislature twice passed a bill that would have the state fund those expenses. Each time the bill was vetoed.

The problem goes beyond Missouri, said Burke. The National Association of Counties is looking for some way to provide affordable catastrophic health insurance for counties, he said.

Scott County spent about $100,000 last year on prisoner medical costs, Burger estimates. This year the county has contracted for in-house medical personnel on a part-time basis for around $98,000.

The expense is one the county is used to paying, but Burger said those are still tax dollars that could be used elsewhere.

In the event of a severe medical emergency, high medical costs for operations like open heart surgery could put a large dent in county funds, said Burger. That hasn't happened yet.

msanders@semissourian.com

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