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An Ordinance amending and supplementing the Allegheny County Code of Ordinances, Division 2, entitled "County Government Operations," Chapter 205, entitled "Allegheny County Jail," through the creation of a new Article II, entitled "Prisoner Healthcare Cost Control," in order to establish uniform County policies for the cost of providing healthcare to inmates at the Allegheny County Jail.
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WHEREAS, the Allegheny County Jail currently houses over 2,500 inmates as they serve their sentences or await trial and other proceedings; and
WHEREAS, Pennsylvania courts have been clear in their holdings that medical care must be provided to inmates when they become seriously ill; and
WHEREAS, the costs of providing this medical care have risen to the point that they consume roughly $3 million in publicly funded revenue from the Allegheny County Health Department's $28 million annual budget; and
WHEREAS, contracts for the provision of inmate health services are negotiated by the County and the providers, and there is no statutory requirement that such contracts exceed the Medicaid rate for such care; and
WHEREAS, although at least 10 states (Colorado, Illinois, Maine, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Washington and Wisconsin) have laws limiting the amount charged for inmate medical care, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania does not; and
WHEREAS, the Director of Medical and Forensic Services for New Hampshire's Department of Corrections has indicated that New Hampshire's law, which limits inmate health care costs to 110% of the Medicaid rate, cut the Department's health care costs approximately in half; and
WHEREAS, it is the judgment of Allegheny County Council that a similar cost structure has the potential to save the County a significant amount of revenue;
The Council of the County of Allegheny hereby enacts as follows:
SECTION 1.
The Allegheny County Code of Ordinances, Division 2, entitled "County Government Operations," Chapter 205, entitled "Allegheny County Jail," is hereby amended by the creation of a new Article II, entitled "Prisoner Healthcare Cost Control," and comprised of the following new sections:
Article II
Prisoner Healthcare Cost Control
§205-1. Statement of Policy.
Under no circumstances shall the County execute a contract for the provision of prisoner health care services in which a rate exceeding the Medicaid rate for such services is authorized.
SECTION 2 . Severability.
If any provision of this Ordinance shall be determined to be unlawful, invalid, void or unenforceable, then that provision shall be considered severable from the remaining provisions of this Ordinance which shall be in full force and effect.