Medical Care For Jail Inmates Yet Another “Unfunded Mandate” Putting A Strain On Local Budgets

By Gordon HopkinsInmates in the Jefferson County Jail are entitled to medical care. The bill for that care is normally paid by the county, even when the inmate has Medicaid.Mark Schoenrock, Chair of the Jefferson County Board of Commissioners, discuss the problem at a meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 16.Schoenrock said, “When we arrest somebody and they go into our jail, if they are on Medicaid, when they come into our jail and come off Medicaid, and then we have to pay everything.”“One of the proposals that we have discussed with the legislature, at least two or three years that I can remember, is to change that,” said Schoenrock. “I mean, that doesn’t seem right. You know that county taxpayers have to pick up the tab.”Schoenrock said, “Jefferson County taxpayers are paying for that, and it’s like that for all 93 counties.”Commissioner Michael Dux described the regulations as an “unfunded mandate.”Unfunded mandate is the term for any law, regulation or other requirement imposed by a higher level of government on a lower one, but without accompanying appropriations to cover the cost of compliance.Jon Cannon, executive director of NACO (Nebraska Association of County Officials), testified in front of the legislature earlier this year about the matter, “When we talk about unfunded mandates, these are things the state doesn’t want to fund, and therefore it’s going to go on the backs of property taxpayers.”Schoenrock said he would be meeting with the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services and Medicaid reimbursement was among the top priorities, along with childcare and mental health.While it is priority for counties, Schoenrock is not optimistic that the matter will be addressed in the upcoming legislative session, “Honestly, I don’t think that we’re going to make any progress on those things in the next session of the legislature.Schoenrock said, “You know, they’ve got $470 million hole to crawl out of. That’s going to be their primary objective.”

Suspect Convicted in Crystal Springs Homicide Arrested Again

Gage County Supervisor Elected NACO Officer

Related Articles

High Winds Fuel Multiple Wild Fires in SE Nebraska

Sen. Ricketts Makes the Case for War

City Offices Closed During Move

A Broken Wire Over Railroad Tracks Leaves City in the Dark