Officials try to cut medical expenses

Mar. 29, 2010, Mansfield News Journal

BY JESSICA ALAIMO

CentralOhio.com

Sandusky County Sheriff Kyle Overmyer was under pressure to cut his budget last year.

He didn’t want to lose any man power or services. Medical costs were another big ticket, though hard to control without violating inmates’ rights.

So Overmyer made a small change that added up to big bucks: He took away inmates’ basketballs.

Every time a prisoner got hurt playing ball, he said, “We’d take them down to our hospital, so we’d endure those costs, plus it cost us manpower hours.”

The decision seems to be a slam dunk. In 2009, the department’s medical costs were the lowest in at least seven years, and a third of what was spent in 2004.

Costs can cripple county jails

Mar. 28, 2010, Mansfield News Journal

BY JESSICA ALAIMO

CentralOhio.com

With county budgets trimmed to the bone, a major medical expense at the county jail could be an unexpected drain of county finances.

County jails are responsible for providing medical care for inmates. While some are able to pass the bill on to private insurance, and some end up releasing a sick inmate to avoid paying the bill, Ohio counties spent at least $38.3 million last year to treat prisoners, according to data collected by CentralOhio.com.

Totals have remained fairly steady the past few years, thanks to a change in state law, but the cost per inmate can vary greatly, from $339 in Paulding County to $4,455 in Franklin County.

Some of the disparities are due to differences in recordkeeping; not every county reported the cost of mental health care, for example. Counties also structure their medical care differently. Larger jails have nurses on staff and buy medicine in bulk. Smaller jails will get inmate medications at the local pharmacy and arrange for visits with a local physician.

Millions of public dollars spent annually to care for Ohio’s aging inmate population

Mar. 28, 2010, Mansfield News Journal

BY JESSICA ALAIMO

CentralOhio.com

COLUMBUS — On March 7, death row inmate Lawrence Reynolds overdosed on pills.

The Ohio State Penitentiary inmate was rushed to a Youngstown hospital. After nine days and some intensive care, he was taken to Lucasville — and executed.

You paid for the whole process, from the 24-hour surveillance after he OD’d to his hospital stay to his lethal injection. While the circumstances were unique, the fact Reynolds received extensive health care behind bars was not.

Universal health care for Americans is a hot topic for debate, but it’s a given for the 50,783 inmates in Ohio’s state prison system.

Ohioans not sure how bill affects them

Mar. 23, 2010, Zanesville Times Recorder

BY JESSICA ALAIMO

CentralOhio.com

Whether they favored or opposed it, Ohioans agreed Monday on one aspect of health care reform: They weren’t sure how they will be affected.

At a career center in Newark, a roomful of people shrugged their shoulders when asked for a reaction. They said they simply didn’t know enough to form an opinion.

U.S. Rep. Zack Space, D-Dover, was one of the last lawmakers to reach a decision on the bill, announcing Saturday night that he would oppose it because of the high costs involved.

According to data released by the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce, 59,500 uninsured residents of the 18th Congressional District will get coverage, while benefits will improve for 356,000 others.

However, business owners and health care leaders in the district said it is too soon to tell how the legislation will affect the area.

GOP candidates bring similar ideas, different backgrounds

Mar. 7, 2010, Coshocton Tribune

BY JESSICA ALAIMO

CentralOhio.com

MOUNT VERNON — They arrived passing out literature with phrases such as “conservative revolution,” “truth in action,” “values we trust,” and “America First.” The Tea Party spirit dominated the first town hall for candidates running for the 18th Congressional District.

When it came to their beliefs, values and ideas, there seemed to be little difference among the seven candidates. What differentiates them are their backgrounds and personalities.

Common themes for the night were the size of government, states’ rights, the national debt and national defense. If a candidate was pro-choice or anti-gun, they didn’t note it.

Candidates were not short on criticism of incumbent Rep. Zack Space, D-Dover. Space was invited to the event but did not attend. He does not have a primary opponent.