In an
editorial published in the New York Times on September 15, 2009 legislation regarding healthcare programs for the inmates of New York State Prisons was questioned. According to the article, inmates have the highest HIV and Hepatitis C rates of any group in the population. Despite these rates correctional officers in the state of New York are urging the current New York governor David Patterson to veto a bill that would offer testing, counseling and treatment for the infected inmates.
The correctional department is urging the veto of this bill because of their current increase in identifying and treating the cases of HIV and Hepatitis C amongst the inmates. Because their new system, they claim, is working well, they do not need to improve it.
Opponents to the bill also think the bill would cost too much money.
What do you think? Should the state of New York implement this policy of better testing, counseling and treatment for inmates with HIV and Hepatitis C?
The editorial makes a believable argument in saying a better health care system for the inmates will overall decrease cases of HIV and Hep C, but that statement is extremely vague. With the amount of reform going on for the U.S. as a whole and recovering from the recession, I think this bill can wait until a later time. The proposed bill for inmates is like an investment that can either be lost or gained and citizens are not willing to risk more of their tax dollars to a group they feel are already receiving excessively.
ReplyDelete