Evidence of the effectiveness of copayment programs continues to surface. And in my home state of Arizona, there has been a reduction of about 30 percent in the number of requests for health care services. Copayment programs reduce the overutilization of health care services without denying the indigent of necessary care. Many prisoners use a health care visit as an excuse to the escape the monotony of daily prison life. In discouraging the overuse of health care, prisoners in true need of attention will receive better care.
Taxpayers benefit through a reduction in the expense of operating a prison health care system.
And the burden of corrections officers to escort prisoners feigning illness to health care facilities is reduced. The legislation also allows state and local facilities to collect health care copayment fees when housing federal prisoners. The fees collected will be deposited into the Federal crime victims' fund. Prisoners with a conscience may even experience satisfaction for contributing to an account assisting those they have harmed. The Federal Prisoner Health Care Copayment Act prohibits the refusal of treatment for financial reasons or appropriate preventative care.