Inmate health insurance gets OK from county

Lincoln County recently signed up for inmate medical insurance that could mean big savings for taxpayers.

“By state law we’re responsible for their medical attention,” county commissioner John Konzen said, “and they come in with serious medical complications sometimes.”

The new insurance, Correctional Risk Services Inc., will cover the cost of a major medical event after $10,000 and will audit medical invoices for billing mistakes.

The Montana Association of Counties negotiated a reduced rate for counties that sign up for the insurance before April next year, so Lincoln County jumped on board. 

“We heard about the insurance at our MACo conference,” Konzen said. “They gave us examples – Ravalli County saved the whole cost of their premium real quick.”

The county is the payer of last resort, which means that inmates who receive medical, dental or prescription drug benefits are first held accountable for the bill. But if they or their private insurance does not pay after 120 days, the county is then responsible, according to Konzen.

Less than a year ago the county incurred a $60,000 to $70,000 medical bill when an inmate fell off a top bunk and landed on his head.

Four years ago a man who fired a shotgun in the Eureka police station was shot by police in the abdomen and thigh. The party responsible for his medical bill – over $100,000 – is still being debated.

The hospital that treated him, Kalispell Regional Medical Center, is suing the county to foot the bill. The county argues that it’s not responsible because Nelson was not in custody at the time of his injuries.

The county would have benefited greatly if it had had insurance for either of the cases, Konzen said.

“With just those two incidences,” he said, “it (the insurance) would pay for itself.”

The cost of the insurance is based on the jail’s average monthly census and comes to about $300 per month or $3,600 per year, Konzen said.

In addition, the claims administration service reviews all medical bills to make sure the treatment was provided, the medical coding is accurate and any applicable discounts are applied. CRS will receive 25 percent of the cost of billing errors in the county’s favor, Konzen said. 

The county has a contract, which will be up in March, with St. John’s Lutheran Hospital and Northwest Community Health Center. They each send a physician’s assistant on alternate weeks to the jail to treat inmates.

“It’s approximately $100 an hour,” Konzen said. “They come once a week and see as many patients as they can in that hour. We have to have some health-care services or we will have to bring them into the emergency room or prompt care.”

When an inmate is hospitalized, the expense of transportation to the hospital and a deputy to stand guard is costly, Konzen said. 

 “Hopefully we can cut some of those costs down and make it reasonable,” Konzen said. “That would be a great savings for our taxpayers.”