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Men who received treatment from hospitals outside the prison were surprised to receive medical bills along with a notice that they had to pay for those services.
A 2006 federal court order put California prisoners’ medical care in the hands of the California Correctional Health Care Services (CCHCS). CCHCS’s budget includes more than $350 million for services inmates cannot get in prison hospitals.
By mistake, the bills went via the U.S. Postal service directly to the inmates.
“Drug overdoses have now surpassed heart disease as the leading cause of death for Americans under the age of 55.” THE NEW YORK TIMES Dec. 22, 2017
Stephan Wilson received an ECG Recording and Review bill for $127.98. He said that he is concerned that the parole board might use an unpaid bill against him.
Vahan Nazarian’s bill was $295 for a bladder stone treatment. Two weeks later, he received a second bill for $500. He additionally got a bill for $600 for the service that came from an out-of-state medical provider.
“I spoke with medical staff right after I got the first statement months ago,” Nazarian said. “I was told to send it to them in a U-Sav-Envelope.”
Nationally, some 64,000 Americans died from overdose last year, up 86 percent from 2006, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: “Friends of Overdose Victims Become Prosecutor’s Targets” Dec. 18, 2017
After Nazarian sent medical staff the bill, the following month he received another billing statement. Last December, he received notification that the bill was sent to a collection agency in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Ossie Giles received anesthesia services last February and a got bill for $1,440.
“I know there is no way for me to pay this bill,” Giles said. “I’m in custody and under the control of the CDCR. I shouldn’t have to deal with this.”
Stanley Baer requires heart valve replacement. He was charged $141.25 for a severe aortic stenosis diagnosis. He told his daughter to notify his lawyer because if “I don’t get this heart valve replaced in the next two years, there is s 50-50 chance I could die in prison.”
Liz Gransee, Public Information Officer II for CCHCS, said it isn’t normal for inmates to get bills from medical service providers, but it has happened on occasion.
“Half of the state’s foster-care population is made up of children with opioid-addicted parents,” reports Bloomberg according to Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine, a Republican. BUSINESSWEEK.com Oct. 9, 2017
“On these occasions, if we are notified we contact the billing group immediately and have them follow our claim submission processes,” Gransee said.
Gransee said if inmates receive a bill for medical services while incarcerated in a California state prison, they should mail it to:
Healthcare Invoicing Section
PO Box 588500, D-2
Elk Grove, CA 95758
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