The Economic Advantage of Preventative Health Care in Prisons

In Plata v. Brown, the Supreme Court of the United States affirmed an order to reduce the California state prison population by 38,000 inmates to remedy constitutionally inadequate health care. The State has conceded that prisoners leaving correctional facilities may not have receive basic preventative care, or in graver instances, care for serious illness. Concurrently, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act expands those eligible for Medicaid to include ex-prisoners who are within 133% of the federal poverty level. Without provision of the basic human right to essential health services such as access to medicine, prevention, and treatment, the normal annual re-assimilation of sickly prisoners will overwhelm Medicaid and the California budget. In an era of scarcity, perhaps right- and left-wing politicians are most inclined to agree when progressive politics also serve the dual purpose of lightening the taxpayers' burden. This Comment proposes that preventative and early health care for prisoners is not only a Constitutional and human right but would also result in tax savings. Although investment into the corrections budget would be required up-front to afford such care, savings will ultimately be recuperated in the form of decreased Medicaid spending