High court won't hear Tennessee prisoners' hepatitis C case

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

Source: AP

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is leaving in place an appeals court decision that upheld Tennessee’s rationing of life-saving hepatitis C drugs to prisoners as constitutional.

The high court on Monday said it would not take the case. As is typical, the court did not comment in turning away the case.

The 2-1 appeals court decision last August found that officials did not act with deliberate indifference to prisoners’ medical needs and it was reasonable to prioritize the sickest patients for treatment given the Tennessee Department of Correction’s limited resources. In a dissent, U.S. Circuit Judge Ronald Lee Gilman wrote that officials may not refuse to treat a patient with a serious medical need “merely to avoid paying the bill.”

Before 2011, there was no good treatment for hepatitis C, but that year the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved new antiviral drugs that are highly effective against the liver-damaging virus, curing most people after two or three months. Although the cost of the antivirals has dropped sharply since 2011, Tennessee says the average cost for treating a prisoner is still $17,000.

Read more: https://www.yahoo.com/news/high-court-wont-hear-tennessee-135711283.html

[bucolic_frolic]

1. This is pure evil

We do need a larger Court. They reject far too many cases, and are too slow except for when Trump fast tracked his junk, and what was that about?

[cstanleytech]

2. Well this is one reason universal healthcare should be implemented as everyone should

have access to needed medical care.
Granted I could see prioritizing patients if the supply is truly limited but not if its limited simply because the state does not want to spend the money.

[OldBaldy1701E]

3. So, was this a private prison or a state one?

I know that TDOC is 'in charge' of the prison population, but they are outsourced to private companies most of the time. I am curious as to who really made the call, to be honest.

[Ziggysmom]

4. Long term medical care including hospitalizations can add up to much more $ than treatment

Not to mention that Hep C CAN be spread to others by unprotected sex. Oh but, gee whiz, prisoners in good old Tennessee don’t have sex now do they?

[sarcasmo]

5. For profit prisons, bottom line over life.