Inmate Health Care Issues Are Significantly Different Essay

inmate health care issues are significantly different from those of average Americans. Furthermore, in many cases it is accurate to say that these issues have been exacerbated by the process and lifestyle propagated by incarceration. The primary issue facing prisoners is a marked lack of medical and health care treatment, which may become manifest in myriad forms including through a lack of medication, proper facilities, competent professionals and a number of other factors that can contribute to poor health, disease, and even death.

While there are a number of issues to be had with the health care system for those who are not incarcerated, it should be noted that the majority of these are pecuniary in nature and stem from relationships with insurance companies. It is largely possible for "free" Americans to get the treatment they need from adequate staff and facilities -- if they have the cash to do so. Within the prison population, however, just being able to obtain the rights to get adequate care is a significant point of contention between inmates and those operating the prisons and their respective health care provisioners -- many of which have become increasingly privatized and find it in their best interests to provide as little service as possible to maximize their earning potential (Holloway 2011). This situation is also made worse by the fact that due to what is oftentimes partisan if not outright substandard healthcare treatment, there is a trend for the body of prisoners to age faster than that of those who are free (Chen 2009).

The societal and institutional consequences of poor inmate health are fairly manifold, and may be evidenced perhaps the most saliently in the number of lawsuits that are routinely filed against prisoners who have suffered (and in more than one instance, died) due to insufficient health care. The Eight Amendment, which forbids "cruel and unusual" punishment, is largely cited as the basis for such litigation due to the fact that not providing adequate health services constitutes a violation of this particular piece of legislation. Further consequences may be evinced in the form of advocacy for prison rights. There are a number of both organizations and individuals who have been instrumental in the filing of grievances and in the aid of lawsuits on behalf of prisoners who have suffered from poor health conditions while institutionalized within the penal system. The aim of such actions, of course, is to provide a degree of accountability on behalf of the several private corporations that have been contracted to provide health care service within specific prisons, as well as to change the trend of substandard care for inmates. The end result of litigation and protests from prison advocacy groups can be demonstrated in a lawsuit such as Plata v. Schwarzenneger, in which the Berkeley's Prison Law office is claiming its penal system is irreparably damaged largely due to overcrowding (Noyes 2011). The case is currently being appealed to the Supreme Court, and just may result in some fundamental changes to assist in the health treatment of inmates throughout the system.

The legal decision in the Turner Case is a great example of the fraudulent, specious, and outright duplicitous behavior of the health care industry, which is largely the conclusion of my analysis of this particular…