PRISONER MEDICAL COSTS GROWING

JACKSON, Mo. -- Cape Girardeau County officials want to shackle prisoner medical costs, which last year totaled nearly $109,000.

The costs included everything from prescription drugs to ambulance charges to visits to the county's two hospitals.

Medical bills for prisoners housed in the county jail totaled $52,974 last year. The rest came from the county's prisoners held in other counties' jails, primarily the Mississippi County Jail.

Cape Girardeau County prisoners held in the Mississippi County Jail incurred $51,528 in medical expenses last year, records show.

The Cape Girardeau County Commission and Sheriff John Jordan hope the hiring of a nurse late last year and the scheduled opening of a new jail in March will help hold down medical costs.

The commission met Thursday morning with the sheriff and jail nurse Tresa Jordan, who isn't related to the sheriff. Commissioners asked that detailed records be kept of prisoner medical care and expenses so they can get a better handle on such costs.

It might be less expensive in the long run to have a doctor visit the jail than to have deputies take prisoners to doctors' offices in Jackson, Tresa Jordan said.

Sheriff Jordan said he will be able to hold all the Cape Girardeau County prisoners in the new jail, eliminating the need to house prisoners in other jails.

On average, Cape Girardeau County had just over 100 people a month in custody last year. That includes prisoners held in other jails.

The sheriff said medical costs averaged $1,089 per prisoner, but $756 per prisoner housed in the Cape Girardeau County Jail in Jackson.

Costs higher elsewhere

"Our biggest cost is the ones we have housed out," said County Auditor H. Weldon Macke. He said prisoners housed in the Mississippi County Jail made numerous trips to the doctor. "They go all the time," he said.

Presiding Commissioner Gerald Jones said jailers have less reason to clamp down on medical expenses when another county is footing the bill.

But Sheriff Jordan suggested it is more an issue of being a caretaker for other counties' prisoners. "If you are baby-sitting, you error on the side of caution," he said.

One hospital bill alone can dramatically increase a county's prisoner medical costs, the sheriff said. Some of the Cape Girardeau County prisoners housed in the Mississippi County Jail incurred large medical bills.

Prisoners also fake illnesses just so they can get an escorted trip out of jail for a few hours, Sheriff Jordan said. "Prisoners know that and take advantage of the system," he said.

Jones agreed. "If I was an inmate, I'd do anything to get out half a day," he said.

Having a jail nurse should help reduce unnecessary trips to the doctor, county officials said. "That is why we hired a nurse," said Jones.

Jail population will grow

Once the new jail opens and the county starts taking in more federal prisoners, Sheriff Jordan expects the daily prison population will total around 140. County officials say that's all the more reason to keep tight reins on medical expenses.

Shortly after taking becoming sheriff six years ago, Jordan started making prisoners pay part of their medical costs. For each trip to the doctor, a prisoner is charged $10 to help offset the cost of an office visit. The county pays the rest of the cost.

Jordan said making prisoners pay part of the cost has helped to reduce unnecessary visits to the doctor. He also is considering charging prisoners $3 for prescription drugs as is done in St. Francois County.

While the charges are assessed to prisoners, even indigent inmates receive medical care, the sheriff said. Prisoners typically have some money or receive money from relatives while in jail, he said. Prisoners use the money to buy items in the jail commissary.

PRISONER COSTS

Top medical providers for prisoners housed in the Cape Girardeau County Jail in 2000:

* Jones Drug Store in Jackson, Mo., $22,838.

* Jackson Medical Center, $11,142.

* Jackson Family Clinic, $6,200.

* St. Francis Medical Center, $4,382.

* Cape Imaging in Cape Girardeau, $2,600.

* Cape County Private Ambulance Service, $1,383.

* Southeast Missouri Hospital, $1,210.