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Norton Introduces Bill to Prohibit Federal Bureau of Prisons from Charging Health Care Copays

February 24, 2022

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) introduced a bill this week to prohibit the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) from charging inmates copayments for health care visits. District of Columbia Code felons are housed by the BOP.

"Inmates should be encouraged to seek medical care before conditions worsen," Norton said. "Preventative care is more effective and lower risk than later-stage interventions and is much less expensive for the federal government, saving taxpayer money in the long run. The objective is successful reentry into the community, and inmates cannot return to society successfully without their health and wellbeing. Charging copays is antithetical to this goal."

Currently, BOP inmates are required to pay a fee of $2 per health care visit. While $2 may seem insignificant, when inmates earn only twelve to forty cents per hour on their work assignments, $2 is substantial.

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