Perpetuating poverty: Formerly incarcerated people warn of ‘agonizing’ choices around Wisconsin’s prison copays
“He didn’t have the $7.50 to cover the copay for a prison medical visit, and he said his requests to be seen had been denied. Perhaps prison officials didn’t consider this toothache an emergency, but it sure felt like one. He said someone told him to try and act like he fell. Eventually, when a correctional officer walked by, Farley laid on the ground, pretending he couldn’t move.
‘I had to take that drastic step to get some medical care,’ Farley said.
He was finally seen — about a week and a half after the aching started — but the pain lingered, as did the money he owed for the medical care.
Farley isn’t the only incarcerated person to become desperate for medical care and not have a surefire way to pay for it. The copay might not seem costly, but criminal justice reform advocates point to low prison wages and the costs associated with other matters, such as phone calls, that mean the dollars add up fast.
Farley comes from poverty.”