Inmates to Be Charged $3 for Medical Visits
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to begin charging county jail inmates $3 each time they visit the medical ward, to cut down on what Supervisor Gloria Molina called “frivolous” wastes of taxpayer funds.
Molina, who brought the motion, said the county pays about $33 million a year to provide medical care for about 19,000 inmates in the county jail system. Many of those inmates are awaiting trial and have not been convicted of a crime, while others are awaiting court appearances or transfers to state lockups.
The Eastside supervisor said such a policy could improve the overall quality of jail health care by allowing medical staffers to give more attention to inmates with serious medical problems.
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