Toothless Texas inmates denied dentures in state prison

[SavannahMann]

Ain't that a bitch.
A large portion of the population cant afford dental insurance.
I find it hard to feel sorry for em.
My dental insurance covered around 6% of my implants all that having to do with extractions.
The rest cost me around 36k that had to be paid in one year or we'd face huge interest rates on the loan. Thankfully we have yearly checks to cover such expenses.
Maybe if they hadn't committed crimes they could afford dental procedures that only a percentage of Americans can afford.
As far as just plane old dentures? You can get hooked up for less than 5k.

Dental care is rediculously expensive. Paying for my kids braces cost more than my car. And that was WITH dental insurance that covered 80%.

Dentures aren’t that expensive. I got them in one day from a place called Affordable Dentures. I’ve never had any problem with them.

 

[Markle]

So what? Was it not bad decisions which cost him his teeth along with additional bad decisions that landed him in prison? Seems to have been his decision.

When I was a child, I had a lot of earaches. The Doctor’s of the era did what was the standard response. They pumped me full of antibiotics. We did not know, and did not learn until later that the massive doses of antibiotics to children could and would destroy the enamel on their adult teeth. I am not alone with that issue.

So what bad decision on my part caused me to have bad teeth and need dentures? Was it the decision to be born? Or was it my decision to have earaches and allow the doctors of the era to treat me to the best of their ability?

The exception that proves the rule.

Are you serving time in prison? Were you guilty of manufacturing and distributing crack cocaine?

 

[SavannahMann]

So what? Was it not bad decisions which cost him his teeth along with additional bad decisions that landed him in prison? Seems to have been his decision.

When I was a child, I had a lot of earaches. The Doctor’s of the era did what was the standard response. They pumped me full of antibiotics. We did not know, and did not learn until later that the massive doses of antibiotics to children could and would destroy the enamel on their adult teeth. I am not alone with that issue.

So what bad decision on my part caused me to have bad teeth and need dentures? Was it the decision to be born? Or was it my decision to have earaches and allow the doctors of the era to treat me to the best of their ability?

The exception that proves the rule.

Are you serving time in prison? Were you guilty of manufacturing and distributing crack cocaine?

On the day I got my Dentures made at Afforable Dentures, there were at least fifty others there doing the same thing. Are you saying that all 49 of them with the exception of me were drug addicts? Preposterous. There are a lot of reasons that people have dental problems. Drugs is one, but not even the main one.

But even if you argue that the prisons should be different, then what may I ask do you expect of prisons? Maximum punishment facilities to teach those dirty bastards a lesson? If your idea is to end drug use, then maximum punishment is the worst, possible, way, to achieve that goal.

http://www.justicepolicy.org/upload...4-01_rep_mdtreatmentorincarceration_ac-dp.pdf

Studies from even Right Wing sources say that treatment is cheaper, and more effective than incarceration. It has a much lower rate of recidivism. It turns the addict into a productive member of society, you know, people who pay taxes.

In addition to the plainly stupid and spiteful arguments in favor of it, the long term health of not having teeth comes into play. Jaw problems which would require surgery and therapy to correct will kick in eventually. That means that this individual, whom you detest for making bad choices in your asinine argument, will have to have expensive surgery, with pain medications, all paid for by Medicare when he is unable to work from the pain, and here is my favorite, paid for by you. So even if you manage to get him off the drugs with your inquisition type of punishment, you still end up paying for him for the rest of his life because of your short sighted spiteful attitude.

That’s the problem with simple platitudes. They are almost never right, and never appropriate to the situation. Texas is merely kicking the can down the road. By avoiding dentures for about $1,000 they’re going to be paying close to $100,000 or more just in medical for the decision. Not to mention Social Security that will put the poor bastard on the disabled list and pay him another grand and a half a month.

So who is making bad choices now? Is it the person who doesn’t have teeth, or the morons insisting that he doesn’t need any? One way it cost you a grand to make him some teeth, and another way it cost you at least a quarter of a million dollars to punish him for his “bad choices”.

That’s what’s funny. You don’t care what it cost, to teach them a lesson. Only the ones forking it out scream about social programs costing too much, while adding to the costs with short sighted and idiotic decisions. If Common Sense was required to vote, about half of those who bother to vote, would be ineligible. No, not just on the Right, a lot on the left would fail to qualify too.

 

[BlueGin]

Republican controlled states continue to regress to a conservative dark age.

Even democratic states don't pay HC for incarcerated people... half of them never have the funding for the things they do pay for.

 

[BlueGin]

Ain't that a bitch.
A large portion of the population cant afford dental insurance.
I find it hard to feel sorry for em.
My dental insurance covered around 6% of my implants all that having to do with extractions.
The rest cost me around 36k that had to be paid in one year or we'd face huge interest rates on the loan. Thankfully we have yearly checks to cover such expenses.
Maybe if they hadn't committed crimes they could afford dental procedures that only a percentage of Americans can afford.
As far as just plane old dentures? You can get hooked up for less than 5k.

Dental care is rediculously expensive. Paying for my kids braces cost more than my car. And that was WITH dental insurance that covered 80%.

Dentures aren’t that expensive. I got them in one day from a place called Affordable Dentures. I’ve never had any problem with them.

Retainers alone are anywhere from $450.00 to $ 600.00. That's not cheap imo.

 

[Meathead]

For the better part of four years, David Ford has not had much in the way of teeth.

When he first came to state prison, the Houston man had just enough molars to hold in place his partial dentures. But then he lost one tooth to a prison fight and the rest to a dentist.

Now, five years into his stay, Ford has no teeth at all — and no dentures. And, despite his best efforts and insistent requests, he’s been repeatedly denied them and told that teeth are not a medical necessity.

In the Texas prison system, toothless and nearly toothless inmates are routinely denied dentures and instead offered blended food — often regular cafeteria meals simply pureed. Sometimes they’re told they can’t get teeth unless they become underweight, at which point dentures might be considered a “medical necessity.” In 2016, prison medical providers approved giving out 71 dentures to a population of more than 149,000 inmates, many of whom are elderly, have a history of drug use or came from impoverished backgrounds with sub-par dental care to begin with.

It’s a sharp decrease from 15 years ago, when there was still a denture-making program in-house and Texas prison medical practitioners approved more than 1,000 costly dental prosthetics. California, the next-largest prison system, gives out a few thousand dentures in a typical year.

“Generally speaking, someone with no teeth should be offered dentures,” said Dr. Jay Shulman, a Texas A&M adjunct dentistry professor who’s been an expert witness in multiple lawsuits over prison dental issues. “The community standard for dental care has not been applied to prisons.”


More than two dozen toothless and nearly toothless prisoners unable to get dentures in contact with the Chronicle over the last year provided similar accounts: Sometimes, they had their teeth removed in prison with the false promise of dentures ahead. Other times they came in with dentures that broke.

Since a policy change around 2003, once inmates find themselves toothless, there is often little the prison medical staff will do. In other corrections systems, dental care complaints have spilled over into lawsuits — but Texas prison officials in June said they had no immediate plans for change.


“Ultimately, it is a medical decision,” said Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokesman Jeremy Desel.
https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Toothless-Texas-inmates-denied-dentures-in-state-13245169.php?t=35d312da22&utm_campaign=twitter-desktop&utm_source=CMS Sharing Button&utm_medium=social

Remember that, folks. Chewing is not a medical necessity.

Haven't you heard, there's a Republican war on the toothless.

 

[SavannahMann]

Ain't that a bitch.
A large portion of the population cant afford dental insurance.
I find it hard to feel sorry for em.
My dental insurance covered around 6% of my implants all that having to do with extractions.
The rest cost me around 36k that had to be paid in one year or we'd face huge interest rates on the loan. Thankfully we have yearly checks to cover such expenses.
Maybe if they hadn't committed crimes they could afford dental procedures that only a percentage of Americans can afford.
As far as just plane old dentures? You can get hooked up for less than 5k.

Dental care is rediculously expensive. Paying for my kids braces cost more than my car. And that was WITH dental insurance that covered 80%.

Dentures aren’t that expensive. I got them in one day from a place called Affordable Dentures. I’ve never had any problem with them.

Retainers alone are anywhere from $450.00 to $ 600.00. That's not cheap imo.

Dentures Dentist | Savannah, Georgia Affordable Dentures in Pooler, GA

A thousand dollars for the top of the line model. A lot cheaper than paying for TMJ surgery.

 

[PoliticalChic]

For the better part of four years, David Ford has not had much in the way of teeth.

When he first came to state prison, the Houston man had just enough molars to hold in place his partial dentures. But then he lost one tooth to a prison fight and the rest to a dentist.

Now, five years into his stay, Ford has no teeth at all — and no dentures. And, despite his best efforts and insistent requests, he’s been repeatedly denied them and told that teeth are not a medical necessity.

In the Texas prison system, toothless and nearly toothless inmates are routinely denied dentures and instead offered blended food — often regular cafeteria meals simply pureed. Sometimes they’re told they can’t get teeth unless they become underweight, at which point dentures might be considered a “medical necessity.” In 2016, prison medical providers approved giving out 71 dentures to a population of more than 149,000 inmates, many of whom are elderly, have a history of drug use or came from impoverished backgrounds with sub-par dental care to begin with.

It’s a sharp decrease from 15 years ago, when there was still a denture-making program in-house and Texas prison medical practitioners approved more than 1,000 costly dental prosthetics. California, the next-largest prison system, gives out a few thousand dentures in a typical year.

“Generally speaking, someone with no teeth should be offered dentures,” said Dr. Jay Shulman, a Texas A&M adjunct dentistry professor who’s been an expert witness in multiple lawsuits over prison dental issues. “The community standard for dental care has not been applied to prisons.”


More than two dozen toothless and nearly toothless prisoners unable to get dentures in contact with the Chronicle over the last year provided similar accounts: Sometimes, they had their teeth removed in prison with the false promise of dentures ahead. Other times they came in with dentures that broke.

Since a policy change around 2003, once inmates find themselves toothless, there is often little the prison medical staff will do. In other corrections systems, dental care complaints have spilled over into lawsuits — but Texas prison officials in June said they had no immediate plans for change.


“Ultimately, it is a medical decision,” said Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokesman Jeremy Desel.
https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Toothless-Texas-inmates-denied-dentures-in-state-13245169.php?t=35d312da22&utm_campaign=twitter-desktop&utm_source=CMS Sharing Button&utm_medium=social

Remember that, folks. Chewing is not a medical necessity.

/----/ Oh wait - I just realized this story is a trial balloon for universal dental coverage

Britain has that.....

"Brits resort to pulling own teeth

• STORY HIGHLIGHTS
• Six percent of English people surveyed have resorted to "DIY dentistry"
  
• One respondent said they had pulled out 14 teeth with a pair of pliers
  
• Three-quarters of patients forced to pay for private treatment"
• Brits resort to pulling own teeth - CNN.com

 

[DrLove]

Yeah, you know - Texas. Just give him a nice supply of beef and chicken bouillon cubes. He'll be fine

 

[DrLove]

The government also generally doesn't cover medical for incarcerated people at all.

Nonsense ^

 

[BlueGin]

The government also generally doesn't cover medical for incarcerated people at all.

Nonsense ^

From Novitas website...

If you submit a claim for items or services furnished to a Medicare bene ciary who is in custody (or incarcerated) on the DOS, the claim will be denied. You or your billing agent will receive a Remittance Advice (RA) that explains the denial. An RA Remittance Advice Remark Code (RARC) further explains an adjustment or relays informational messages that cannot be expressed with a claim adjustment reason code.

When denying claims for services furnished to Medicare bene ciaries under penal custody, the RA will include RARC N103 (in addition to RA language already in use):

“Records indicate this patient was a prisoner or in custody of a Federal, State, or local authority when the service was rendered. This payer does not cover items and services furnished to an individual while he or she is in custody under a penal statute or rule, unless under State or local law, the individual is personally liable for the cost of his or her health care while in custody and the State or local government pursues the collection of such debt in the same way and with the same vigor as the collection of its other debts. The provider can collect from the Federal/State/Local Authority as appropriate.”

 

[Lewdog]

I find it totally absurd posters think people would get arrested on purpose to go to jail to get $500 dentures. So they would temporarily give up their freedom, gain FINES, and get something on their record that will affect them the rest of their lives for a $500 set of dentures. GTFO...

 

[deanrd]

So what? Was it not bad decisions which cost him his teeth along with additional bad decisions that landed him in prison? Seems to have been his decision.

When I was a child, I had a lot of earaches. The Doctor’s of the era did what was the standard response. They pumped me full of antibiotics. We did not know, and did not learn until later that the massive doses of antibiotics to children could and would destroy the enamel on their adult teeth. I am not alone with that issue.

So what bad decision on my part caused me to have bad teeth and need dentures? Was it the decision to be born? Or was it my decision to have earaches and allow the doctors of the era to treat me to the best of their ability?

The solution here is that you should never go to doctors.

 

[DrLove]

The government also generally doesn't cover medical for incarcerated people at all.

Nonsense ^

From Novitas website...

If you submit a claim for items or services furnished to a Medicare bene ciary who is in custody (or incarcerated) on the DOS, the claim will be denied. You or your billing agent will receive a Remittance Advice (RA) that explains the denial. An RA Remittance Advice Remark Code (RARC) further explains an adjustment or relays informational messages that cannot be expressed with a claim adjustment reason code.

When denying claims for services furnished to Medicare bene ciaries under penal custody, the RA will include RARC N103 (in addition to RA language already in use):

“Records indicate this patient was a prisoner or in custody of a Federal, State, or local authority when the service was rendered. This payer does not cover items and services furnished to an individual while he or she is in custody under a penal statute or rule, unless under State or local law, the individual is personally liable for the cost of his or her health care while in custody and the State or local government pursues the collection of such debt in the same way and with the same vigor as the collection of its other debts. The provider can collect from the Federal/State/Local Authority as appropriate.”

Okay, but forgetting about Medicare and Medicaid or other subsidized insurance - Your claim was that "the government doesn't cover medical for incarcerated people".
Simply not true - if you are injured, have a heart attack, or get cancer - whether it be the state or the feds who pays for it .. they are not allowed to just let you die.

 

[DrLove]

So what? Was it not bad decisions which cost him his teeth along with additional bad decisions that landed him in prison? Seems to have been his decision.

When I was a child, I had a lot of earaches. The Doctor’s of the era did what was the standard response. They pumped me full of antibiotics. We did not know, and did not learn until later that the massive doses of antibiotics to children could and would destroy the enamel on their adult teeth. I am not alone with that issue.

So what bad decision on my part caused me to have bad teeth and need dentures? Was it the decision to be born? Or was it my decision to have earaches and allow the doctors of the era to treat me to the best of their ability?

The solution here is that you should never go to doctors.

Trumpcare: Don't get sick --- But if you do get sick, DIE QUICKLY!

 

[BlueGin]

The government also generally doesn't cover medical for incarcerated people at all.

Nonsense ^

From Novitas website...

If you submit a claim for items or services furnished to a Medicare bene ciary who is in custody (or incarcerated) on the DOS, the claim will be denied. You or your billing agent will receive a Remittance Advice (RA) that explains the denial. An RA Remittance Advice Remark Code (RARC) further explains an adjustment or relays informational messages that cannot be expressed with a claim adjustment reason code.

When denying claims for services furnished to Medicare bene ciaries under penal custody, the RA will include RARC N103 (in addition to RA language already in use):

“Records indicate this patient was a prisoner or in custody of a Federal, State, or local authority when the service was rendered. This payer does not cover items and services furnished to an individual while he or she is in custody under a penal statute or rule, unless under State or local law, the individual is personally liable for the cost of his or her health care while in custody and the State or local government pursues the collection of such debt in the same way and with the same vigor as the collection of its other debts. The provider can collect from the Federal/State/Local Authority as appropriate.”

Okay, but forgetting about Medicare and Medicaid or other subsidized insurance - Your claim was that "the government doesn't cover medical for incarcerated people".
Simply not true - if you are injured, have a heart attack, or get cancer - whether it be the state or the feds who pays for it .. they are not allowed to just let you die.

They will treat you at the hospital. Then they will either charge you for it OR submit the charges to see if they qualify for an Indigent fund adjustment. In rare cases the local county ( if they have funds) will pick up charges and then collect from the inmate later.

 

[DrLove]

The government also generally doesn't cover medical for incarcerated people at all.

Nonsense ^

From Novitas website...

If you submit a claim for items or services furnished to a Medicare bene ciary who is in custody (or incarcerated) on the DOS, the claim will be denied. You or your billing agent will receive a Remittance Advice (RA) that explains the denial. An RA Remittance Advice Remark Code (RARC) further explains an adjustment or relays informational messages that cannot be expressed with a claim adjustment reason code.

When denying claims for services furnished to Medicare bene ciaries under penal custody, the RA will include RARC N103 (in addition to RA language already in use):

“Records indicate this patient was a prisoner or in custody of a Federal, State, or local authority when the service was rendered. This payer does not cover items and services furnished to an individual while he or she is in custody under a penal statute or rule, unless under State or local law, the individual is personally liable for the cost of his or her health care while in custody and the State or local government pursues the collection of such debt in the same way and with the same vigor as the collection of its other debts. The provider can collect from the Federal/State/Local Authority as appropriate.”

Okay, but forgetting about Medicare and Medicaid or other subsidized insurance - Your claim was that "the government doesn't cover medical for incarcerated people".
Simply not true - if you are injured, have a heart attack, or get cancer - whether it be the state or the feds who pays for it .. they are not allowed to just let you die.

They will treat you at the hospital. Then they will either charge you for it OR submit the charges to see if they qualify for an Indigent fund adjustment. In rare cases the local county ( if they have funds) will pick up charges and then collect from the inmate later.

Okay - You do sound as if you have some background here .. so I accept.

 

[Lewdog]

The government also generally doesn't cover medical for incarcerated people at all.

Nonsense ^

From Novitas website...

If you submit a claim for items or services furnished to a Medicare bene ciary who is in custody (or incarcerated) on the DOS, the claim will be denied. You or your billing agent will receive a Remittance Advice (RA) that explains the denial. An RA Remittance Advice Remark Code (RARC) further explains an adjustment or relays informational messages that cannot be expressed with a claim adjustment reason code.

When denying claims for services furnished to Medicare bene ciaries under penal custody, the RA will include RARC N103 (in addition to RA language already in use):

“Records indicate this patient was a prisoner or in custody of a Federal, State, or local authority when the service was rendered. This payer does not cover items and services furnished to an individual while he or she is in custody under a penal statute or rule, unless under State or local law, the individual is personally liable for the cost of his or her health care while in custody and the State or local government pursues the collection of such debt in the same way and with the same vigor as the collection of its other debts. The provider can collect from the Federal/State/Local Authority as appropriate.”

Okay, but forgetting about Medicare and Medicaid or other subsidized insurance - Your claim was that "the government doesn't cover medical for incarcerated people".
Simply not true - if you are injured, have a heart attack, or get cancer - whether it be the state or the feds who pays for it .. they are not allowed to just let you die.

They will treat you at the hospital. Then they will either charge you for it OR submit the charges to see if they qualify for an Indigent fund adjustment. In rare cases the local county ( if they have funds) will pick up charges and then collect from the inmate later.

They don't always treat people at the hospital. Where I worked there was an inmate that had HIV that received treatment. They regularly did TB tests... nothing major there, but by law they are required to provide medical care. If they don't it is a violation of the 8th Amendment.

 

[BlueGin]

So what? Was it not bad decisions which cost him his teeth along with additional bad decisions that landed him in prison? Seems to have been his decision.

When I was a child, I had a lot of earaches. The Doctor’s of the era did what was the standard response. They pumped me full of antibiotics. We did not know, and did not learn until later that the massive doses of antibiotics to children could and would destroy the enamel on their adult teeth. I am not alone with that issue.

So what bad decision on my part caused me to have bad teeth and need dentures? Was it the decision to be born? Or was it my decision to have earaches and allow the doctors of the era to treat me to the best of their ability?

The solution here is that you should never go to doctors.

Trumpcare: Don't get sick --- But if you do get sick, DIE QUICKLY!

Incarceration rules were in effect during Obama's administration.

 

[BlueGin]

The government also generally doesn't cover medical for incarcerated people at all.

Nonsense ^

From Novitas website...

If you submit a claim for items or services furnished to a Medicare bene ciary who is in custody (or incarcerated) on the DOS, the claim will be denied. You or your billing agent will receive a Remittance Advice (RA) that explains the denial. An RA Remittance Advice Remark Code (RARC) further explains an adjustment or relays informational messages that cannot be expressed with a claim adjustment reason code.

When denying claims for services furnished to Medicare bene ciaries under penal custody, the RA will include RARC N103 (in addition to RA language already in use):

“Records indicate this patient was a prisoner or in custody of a Federal, State, or local authority when the service was rendered. This payer does not cover items and services furnished to an individual while he or she is in custody under a penal statute or rule, unless under State or local law, the individual is personally liable for the cost of his or her health care while in custody and the State or local government pursues the collection of such debt in the same way and with the same vigor as the collection of its other debts. The provider can collect from the Federal/State/Local Authority as appropriate.”

Okay, but forgetting about Medicare and Medicaid or other subsidized insurance - Your claim was that "the government doesn't cover medical for incarcerated people".
Simply not true - if you are injured, have a heart attack, or get cancer - whether it be the state or the feds who pays for it .. they are not allowed to just let you die.

They will treat you at the hospital. Then they will either charge you for it OR submit the charges to see if they qualify for an Indigent fund adjustment. In rare cases the local county ( if they have funds) will pick up charges and then collect from the inmate later.

They don't always treat people at the hospital. Where I worked there was an inmate that had HIV that received treatment. They regularly did TB tests... nothing major there, but by law they are required to provide medical care. If they don't it is a violation of the 8th Amendment.

Correct. The hospital will treat you. But the bill either goes to the inmate or the hospital writes it off as a loss. The government doesn't pay for it.