Starting in March, California inmates will no longer need to make copayments when they go in for medical help, The Sacramento Bee reports. The payments are no longer necessary, as they offer “minimal fiscal benefit” and “may hinder patients from seeking care,” according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and the Correctional Health Care Services department.
An internal review found that the state collected $460,000 in copayments from over 220,000 medical and dental visits in the previous fiscal year. Since 1994, the state corrections department has been allowed to charge $5 every time an inmate comes forward for a medical or dental visit. The fee is added to the inmate’s prison account, and if the inmate has no available money, there is no charge. Inmates do not provide copayments when they go in for mental health services.