From February to November of 2021, Pennsylvania temporarily suspended medical copays for all individuals in custody. It's time to help end the $5 copay for good! Please join us in supporting Pennsylvania House Bill (HB) 1753 and let our lawmakers and the Dept. Corrections know why medical copays for incarcerated individuals need to end permanently today!
Copays put healthcare out of reach for many incarcerated people. Medical treatment often means a choice between the copay or necessities like phone calls with family, toiletries, clothes, and shoes.
$5 is a huge amount to someone behind bars. The starting salary for a prison job in the Pennsylvania DOC is 19 cents per hour. At this rate, it would take someone over 26 hours of work to afford the co-pay, and many incarcerated people have medical conditions that make them unable to work or there aren't enough jobs to go around in their facility.
Copays put a huge burden on the families of incarcerated people, who often have to put the money they need on their loved one's books to cover the copay.
Copays make it harder to access medical care. The National Institute of Correctional Healthcare opposes copays because of this and has found that lack of access to medical care jeopardizes the health of incarcerated people, staff, and the public.
Email your Pennsylvania lawmakers and the Dept. Corrections and urge them to get rid of the co-pay permanently. The incarcerated individuals of Pennsylvania deserve access to quality healthcare, and the state has a constitutional duty to provide it.
Email your lawmakers today. https://bit.ly/3rQYchq