Benton County Inmates to Pay Health Care Costs
By: Cassidy Hodges
Updated: April 27, 2012
The Benton County Jail starting a new program to cut down on inmate health care costs to hopefully save taxpayer dollars and they're doing it by offering a snack option.
Starting in May, families can put money into an inmate account so folks behind bars can purchase things like candy, chap stick or even pay to see the doctor.
So now, instead of county taxes paying every single medical bill at the jail, inmates with an account will be responsible for their own co-pay's.
"They're in here because they violated the law," says Benton County Sheriff Keith Ferguson.
But behind bars, health care is free--a fee footed by county taxpayers to the tune of $250,000 a year.
"They come to jail to get fixed and I think the citizens are tired of that. They're tired of their tax dollars going toward fixing [inmate] problems," says Ferguson.
So the jail is starting a commissary program, where inmates families can put money into detainee accounts to buy snacks or pay to see the doctor and officials say it should cut down on health care costs inside the jail.
"We get a lot of inmates that want to get out of the cell and go see different parts of the jail," says Benton County Jail Captain Chris Sparks.
Sparks says a lot of those trips to the infirmary are frivolous.
So he thinks giving inmates the choice between snacks and medical care will weed out a lot of the unnecessary doctor visits.
"I believe it's a jail and it should be tough, but at the same time we pay so much money in inmate health care here and other jails are seeing lower medical costs and they have commissary programs," says Sparks.
But the county will also make money off the program--estimating around 78,000 dollars a year.
All of that will go into in the Benton County general fund, benefiting taxpayers in Benton County.
"I don't see that it's making us a bunch of money, but if it will offset any costs whatsoever it will be good for the county," says Ferguson.
If inmates chose to not have an account, the county will continue to pay for medical bills.
Sparks also says the commissary program will hopefully help with discipline--giving inmates an incentive to obey the rules.
The commissary company is scheduled to install the machines on starting May 6th, Sheriff Ferguson hopes the program will be up and running by the middle of May.
Starting in May, families can put money into an inmate account so folks behind bars can purchase things like candy, chap stick or even pay to see the doctor.
So now, instead of county taxes paying every single medical bill at the jail, inmates with an account will be responsible for their own co-pay's.
"They're in here because they violated the law," says Benton County Sheriff Keith Ferguson.
But behind bars, health care is free--a fee footed by county taxpayers to the tune of $250,000 a year.
"They come to jail to get fixed and I think the citizens are tired of that. They're tired of their tax dollars going toward fixing [inmate] problems," says Ferguson.
So the jail is starting a commissary program, where inmates families can put money into detainee accounts to buy snacks or pay to see the doctor and officials say it should cut down on health care costs inside the jail.
"We get a lot of inmates that want to get out of the cell and go see different parts of the jail," says Benton County Jail Captain Chris Sparks.
Sparks says a lot of those trips to the infirmary are frivolous.
So he thinks giving inmates the choice between snacks and medical care will weed out a lot of the unnecessary doctor visits.
"I believe it's a jail and it should be tough, but at the same time we pay so much money in inmate health care here and other jails are seeing lower medical costs and they have commissary programs," says Sparks.
But the county will also make money off the program--estimating around 78,000 dollars a year.
All of that will go into in the Benton County general fund, benefiting taxpayers in Benton County.
"I don't see that it's making us a bunch of money, but if it will offset any costs whatsoever it will be good for the county," says Ferguson.
If inmates chose to not have an account, the county will continue to pay for medical bills.
Sparks also says the commissary program will hopefully help with discipline--giving inmates an incentive to obey the rules.
The commissary company is scheduled to install the machines on starting May 6th, Sheriff Ferguson hopes the program will be up and running by the middle of May.
