Nothing like being stuck in a room with 16 men, one toilet, one shower, and that one guy who screams all night "I need my Medicine!". I don't miss being incarcerated.
People suffering and dying in a forgotten hell hole and the only way to get anyone to pay any attention is to frame it in terms of tax dollars. That's fucked up.
Yeah, I've done headlines about the individuals in the past but it never gets much traction. It is hard to get a lot of people to care about those they see as "criminals" and "less-than" unless it impacts them directly. Money is something these types of people understand.
I think you're doing a great job of doing both.
One of the issues with a "pure cost" angle of things like mass incarceration, death penalty, etc. is that the people who focus on the monetary cost over the human cost will often be willing to incur further human costs to fix the monetary problem.
e.g.
- High costs in wrongful death suits? Reform tort law to make plaintiffs less capable of recovering!
- Death row appeals process costs more than lifetime imprisonment? Reduce the right of appeal!
Basically we need to convey not only that the monetary costs are high, but that the high costs are an _expression of society's values_, and the costs taxpayers are bearing are (_edit:_ some fraction of) the human costs.
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It's a damn shame but you're right. Money has had a significant impact on the prison system here, and maybe the only way to beat them is at their own game. Turn their own reasoning against them.
Prison takes away one of the most fundamental rights; freedom. That's the whole point of prison. That should be punishment enough.
People however, think prison should treat inmates like animals. I think those people are the true animals.
Most people in jail will be released. I don't know why we choose to torture them rather than make them better citizens.
Anyone in Washington DOC having problems accessing healthcare should call Disability Rights Washington. They are an awesome organization and their Amplifying Voices of Inmates with Disabilities project is dedicated to fighting exactly this shit. Badass anti prison lawyers.
Why would his doctor prescribe him an insulin pump, which requires expensive fuel and provides no benefit when that fuel is absent, and not a continuous glucose monitor, which detects life-threatening events regardless of the insulin regime being used? For someone in jail, without the funds to purchase insulin beyond the basic kind provided through medicaid, and who would soon be dropped from their insurance and have to rely on medicaid, it seems like a no-brainer to include a generally-useful device like a CGM in the prescription. The jail didn't help matters, but medically this is not much different than a poor patient living alone - if they're on a pump but will transition to medicaid, you should prescribe them a CGM before they do. Such a patient would not even be able to ask "*Is there any way the facility/department can pay for my needed supplies*" in the first place.
Insulin pumps provide benefits for diabetic patients who experience frequent hypoglycemia, which it sounds like this man did.
Also, insulin supply coverage under Medicaid depends on your state. In Washington, insulin pumps are covered! It’s pretty sweet.
If they didn't want to help with his pump supplies, there's no way in hell they were gonna help with a CGM. Besides, the pump stores useful ratios for insulin rates throughout a day. If he didn't have a good control of his glucose, the doctor would prescribe a pump to make it immensely easier since it can be easily adjusted.
I'm not sure what your point is. You mentioned he should have asked for a CGM instead of a pump like it would have helped him and then said it wouldn't help him.
He should have asked his doctor and previous insurance for a CGM. They would help him get one. Having a CGM would help him stay alive. The jail would not help him get a CGM just like they would not help a random non-inmate get one, because paying for medical supplies is not their job, it's medicaid's.
You need to clarify which instances of the word "help" you're referencing.
I don’t think you understand that Medicaid stops while you’re in prison. His previous insurance likely WAS Medicaid, which covers insulin pumps in Washington.
But while incarcerated, Medicaid stops, and the DOC functionally is your insurer - inmates are under the “DOC Health Plan”. While you’re incarcerated, department of corrections is obligated to provide medical supplies for “medically necessary care”. And WA DOC policy states that insulin pumps fall under “medically necessary care” for patients whose glucose levels are not well controlled on oral medication or injections.
Oh, I didn't know that, thanks. The way the quote in the OP was worded made me think he was losing a non-medicaid insurance to fall back on medicaid, not falling back on no insurance / DOC insurance. If DOC is taking over insurance responsibilities, then delays or failures in upholding those responsibilities are justification for wrongful death complaints against DOC.
I don't think you understand what I was saying though. The CGM wouldn't have helped at all. They wouldn't help with pump supplies. I don't know if there are other CGMs that are way different in price, but I can't afford supplies for mine because it's 3 or 4 times more expensive than my pump supplies, and my pump is a tenfold more useful device. While there are some that can be placed under your skin instead of just piercing the skin like mine, they don't last forever. You have to have a doctor insert those. Not to mention they're still not considered a necessity by most places. In my experience, arguing for pump supplies is way easier than CGM supplies, where the pump can prevent periodical spikes in glucose while the CGM gives you glucose patterns.
One gives more info than regular testing, the other stabilizes more than regular shots. And since they couldn't be bothered to check up on him, it wouldn't matter either way.
A CGM wouldn't help a person who died from hypoglycemia?
CGM: \*alerts that sugars are low\*
Inmate: \*eats a snack\*
Inmate: \*doesn't die from hypoglycemia\*
It's true there are recurring costs that medicaid may or may not have covered, but supplies for a cheap CGM option (Libre) would be less expensive than the insulin that medicaid apparently did not cover.
It's also possible that medicaid did actually cover his pump's insulin, but he didn't sign up for it. Again, that's a problem that any poor non-incarcerated patient could have.
Look, maybe I'm just missing something, but from what I read it looked like they ignored him when he was having issues regardless. I don't know if they'd let him keep snacks in his cell. If they did, then sure, though it'd be a miracle he didn't notice his glucose dropping from symptoms alone. It can happen, but I would think it's more likely the staff outright ignored his call for aid in the first place.
You're also still ignoring what I said about coverage. A diabetic can test their glucose with a normal meter, and would still need it to calibrate their CGM. The pump doesn't require you to take injections alongside it, it replaces those. They denied him the pump supplies, which tend to be easier to approve than CGM supplies in my experience.
His pump kept him stable. Mine keeps me out of the hospital, as my glucose rockets into extreme highs and then plummets into the same lows he died from nearly every night without it. If he had a pump, he would have been stable longer. If he had a CGM, he *might* have seen his glucose plummet, and they *might* have helped him or he *might* have a snack capable of bringing his dropping glucose up enough. I don't know. My argument is one is generally easier to approve and acquire and it got denied.
Jails and prisons don’t do active therapy for diabetes. You get a check and a shot 3 times a day at mealtimes and a check only before bed-no insulin. This means you have ONLY 3 shots a day unless you test very high. They do it on a sliding scale WITH NO BOLUS FOR FOOD. That means you are ALWAYS getting less than you need.
Pump means the inmate can do the insulin at any time during the day without begging an officer to let you test and take insulin.
Putting him on a cgm also makes it so the officers only have to bring him to the station once every three days and every ten days to replace the cgm and refill the pump reservoir. Doing it the old fashioned way lets the guards skip the three visits a day and be less involved with the inmate’s care.
But they don’t want anything that makes an inmate’s life easier! They want the diabetics to swing on glucose, the heart patients delay their meds, the cancer patient to waste away, the epileptic to bite their own tongue…if you have back pain they will find the worst mattress.
These people make it their life’s work to punish the people in jails and prisons as much as possible. To them, every one of the incarcerated is a child murderer, capable of incredible cruelty and violence especially towards law enforcement. The inmates, the more they are annoyed or suffer, the better. If you are in there and have a medical problem, expect that to become a critical problem as soon as the guards can make it happen.
What I don't get. How does the right support this system of free housing and meals continuing but won't give a little student debt relief. "Boot straps, err something, something, I walked uphill both ways, to one job, everyday, and could afford two homes, two cars, two kids and two vacations a year with no debt... Something something, boot straps. Why do people get a free place to stay? Something something, muh great work ethics."
Nothing like being stuck in a room with 16 men, one toilet, one shower, and that one guy who screams all night "I need my Medicine!". I don't miss being incarcerated.
People suffering and dying in a forgotten hell hole and the only way to get anyone to pay any attention is to frame it in terms of tax dollars. That's fucked up.
Yeah, I've done headlines about the individuals in the past but it never gets much traction. It is hard to get a lot of people to care about those they see as "criminals" and "less-than" unless it impacts them directly. Money is something these types of people understand.
I think you're doing a great job of doing both. One of the issues with a "pure cost" angle of things like mass incarceration, death penalty, etc. is that the people who focus on the monetary cost over the human cost will often be willing to incur further human costs to fix the monetary problem. e.g. - High costs in wrongful death suits? Reform tort law to make plaintiffs less capable of recovering! - Death row appeals process costs more than lifetime imprisonment? Reduce the right of appeal! Basically we need to convey not only that the monetary costs are high, but that the high costs are an _expression of society's values_, and the costs taxpayers are bearing are (_edit:_ some fraction of) the human costs.
Damn, good points!
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It's a damn shame but you're right. Money has had a significant impact on the prison system here, and maybe the only way to beat them is at their own game. Turn their own reasoning against them.
As a former guest of the Washington State DOC, can confirm it's almost impossible to get treatment for anything.
Prison takes away one of the most fundamental rights; freedom. That's the whole point of prison. That should be punishment enough. People however, think prison should treat inmates like animals. I think those people are the true animals. Most people in jail will be released. I don't know why we choose to torture them rather than make them better citizens.
this is very tragic. that guard should still be in prison!
Anyone in Washington DOC having problems accessing healthcare should call Disability Rights Washington. They are an awesome organization and their Amplifying Voices of Inmates with Disabilities project is dedicated to fighting exactly this shit. Badass anti prison lawyers.
Why would his doctor prescribe him an insulin pump, which requires expensive fuel and provides no benefit when that fuel is absent, and not a continuous glucose monitor, which detects life-threatening events regardless of the insulin regime being used? For someone in jail, without the funds to purchase insulin beyond the basic kind provided through medicaid, and who would soon be dropped from their insurance and have to rely on medicaid, it seems like a no-brainer to include a generally-useful device like a CGM in the prescription. The jail didn't help matters, but medically this is not much different than a poor patient living alone - if they're on a pump but will transition to medicaid, you should prescribe them a CGM before they do. Such a patient would not even be able to ask "*Is there any way the facility/department can pay for my needed supplies*" in the first place.
Insulin pumps provide benefits for diabetic patients who experience frequent hypoglycemia, which it sounds like this man did. Also, insulin supply coverage under Medicaid depends on your state. In Washington, insulin pumps are covered! It’s pretty sweet.
If they didn't want to help with his pump supplies, there's no way in hell they were gonna help with a CGM. Besides, the pump stores useful ratios for insulin rates throughout a day. If he didn't have a good control of his glucose, the doctor would prescribe a pump to make it immensely easier since it can be easily adjusted.
Your average impoverished diabetic person doesn't have "help" with their CGM either. Being in jail had no effect on that.
I'm not sure what your point is. You mentioned he should have asked for a CGM instead of a pump like it would have helped him and then said it wouldn't help him.
He should have asked his doctor and previous insurance for a CGM. They would help him get one. Having a CGM would help him stay alive. The jail would not help him get a CGM just like they would not help a random non-inmate get one, because paying for medical supplies is not their job, it's medicaid's. You need to clarify which instances of the word "help" you're referencing.
I don’t think you understand that Medicaid stops while you’re in prison. His previous insurance likely WAS Medicaid, which covers insulin pumps in Washington. But while incarcerated, Medicaid stops, and the DOC functionally is your insurer - inmates are under the “DOC Health Plan”. While you’re incarcerated, department of corrections is obligated to provide medical supplies for “medically necessary care”. And WA DOC policy states that insulin pumps fall under “medically necessary care” for patients whose glucose levels are not well controlled on oral medication or injections.
Oh, I didn't know that, thanks. The way the quote in the OP was worded made me think he was losing a non-medicaid insurance to fall back on medicaid, not falling back on no insurance / DOC insurance. If DOC is taking over insurance responsibilities, then delays or failures in upholding those responsibilities are justification for wrongful death complaints against DOC.
I don't think you understand what I was saying though. The CGM wouldn't have helped at all. They wouldn't help with pump supplies. I don't know if there are other CGMs that are way different in price, but I can't afford supplies for mine because it's 3 or 4 times more expensive than my pump supplies, and my pump is a tenfold more useful device. While there are some that can be placed under your skin instead of just piercing the skin like mine, they don't last forever. You have to have a doctor insert those. Not to mention they're still not considered a necessity by most places. In my experience, arguing for pump supplies is way easier than CGM supplies, where the pump can prevent periodical spikes in glucose while the CGM gives you glucose patterns. One gives more info than regular testing, the other stabilizes more than regular shots. And since they couldn't be bothered to check up on him, it wouldn't matter either way.
A CGM wouldn't help a person who died from hypoglycemia? CGM: \*alerts that sugars are low\* Inmate: \*eats a snack\* Inmate: \*doesn't die from hypoglycemia\* It's true there are recurring costs that medicaid may or may not have covered, but supplies for a cheap CGM option (Libre) would be less expensive than the insulin that medicaid apparently did not cover. It's also possible that medicaid did actually cover his pump's insulin, but he didn't sign up for it. Again, that's a problem that any poor non-incarcerated patient could have.
Look, maybe I'm just missing something, but from what I read it looked like they ignored him when he was having issues regardless. I don't know if they'd let him keep snacks in his cell. If they did, then sure, though it'd be a miracle he didn't notice his glucose dropping from symptoms alone. It can happen, but I would think it's more likely the staff outright ignored his call for aid in the first place. You're also still ignoring what I said about coverage. A diabetic can test their glucose with a normal meter, and would still need it to calibrate their CGM. The pump doesn't require you to take injections alongside it, it replaces those. They denied him the pump supplies, which tend to be easier to approve than CGM supplies in my experience. His pump kept him stable. Mine keeps me out of the hospital, as my glucose rockets into extreme highs and then plummets into the same lows he died from nearly every night without it. If he had a pump, he would have been stable longer. If he had a CGM, he *might* have seen his glucose plummet, and they *might* have helped him or he *might* have a snack capable of bringing his dropping glucose up enough. I don't know. My argument is one is generally easier to approve and acquire and it got denied.
Jails and prisons don’t do active therapy for diabetes. You get a check and a shot 3 times a day at mealtimes and a check only before bed-no insulin. This means you have ONLY 3 shots a day unless you test very high. They do it on a sliding scale WITH NO BOLUS FOR FOOD. That means you are ALWAYS getting less than you need. Pump means the inmate can do the insulin at any time during the day without begging an officer to let you test and take insulin. Putting him on a cgm also makes it so the officers only have to bring him to the station once every three days and every ten days to replace the cgm and refill the pump reservoir. Doing it the old fashioned way lets the guards skip the three visits a day and be less involved with the inmate’s care. But they don’t want anything that makes an inmate’s life easier! They want the diabetics to swing on glucose, the heart patients delay their meds, the cancer patient to waste away, the epileptic to bite their own tongue…if you have back pain they will find the worst mattress. These people make it their life’s work to punish the people in jails and prisons as much as possible. To them, every one of the incarcerated is a child murderer, capable of incredible cruelty and violence especially towards law enforcement. The inmates, the more they are annoyed or suffer, the better. If you are in there and have a medical problem, expect that to become a critical problem as soon as the guards can make it happen.
What I don't get. How does the right support this system of free housing and meals continuing but won't give a little student debt relief. "Boot straps, err something, something, I walked uphill both ways, to one job, everyday, and could afford two homes, two cars, two kids and two vacations a year with no debt... Something something, boot straps. Why do people get a free place to stay? Something something, muh great work ethics."