Healthcare & the Carceral System

Chief Complaint

• “I don’t have a job. I don’t have any money. How can I buy medication?”

• “No one wants to be sick, but sometimes the whole health care system can be intimidating.”

• “I don’t know why they finally gave me parole on my sixth try… Maybe it’s because I’d had two heart attacks and I was expensive.”

Clinical Pearl:

About 7 million people in America are currently involved in the penal system, which includes jails, prisons, and probation supervision. Over 11 million admissions to jails occur annually, and Black, Latinx and Native American people are disproportionately involved in the carceral system. LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) people also experience disproportionate rates of incarceration as well as more frequent mistreatment and sexual victimization in U.S. jails and prisons. Compared to the general population, those involved in the carceral system have a higher prevalence of infectious diseases, serious mental illness, substance dependence, and chronic disease.