PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Prison inmates lose their freedom but they gain free medical care while they’re behind bars in Oregon.
The Oregonian reports the 14,000 inmates in the state cost about $100 million a year in health services. The cost has risen from about 6 percent of the prison budget six years ago to about 15 percent now.
Last year there were nearly two dozen inmates with medical bills exceeding $100,000. One woman with kidney disease cost the state $1.1 million for lengthy hospital stays before she was paroled.
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Information from: The Oregonian, http://www.oregonlive.com
