Here is Part 2 of WBUR’s 4-part series called Dying on the Sheriff’s Watch: Pain And Profits: Sheriffs Hand Off Inmate Care To Private Health Companies. Massachusetts sheriffs charge jail health care providers a penalty if they send prisoners to hospital visits more than a set number of times. Poor health care is the number one complaint of people who are incarcerated in Massachusetts. This must change. One change on a national level would be to allow people to have Medicaid coverage even if they are incarcerated.
If you are moved by this series and concerned for our communities’ health during this pandemic, note that this is the Week of Action to demand release of incarcerated people. Today’s action is to call your county’s sheriff and tell them to release all people in pre-trial detention and people with less than 6 months left of their sentence and identify all people over 50 and people who are medically vulnerable who can be released. For more info on the Week of Action and why this action is necessary, follow this link: https://tinyurl.com/maweekofaction.