Treating prisoners benefits society
Re “Suit alleges poor hepatitis C care,” July 9
The filing of a lawsuit challenging the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s denial of hepatitis C treatment to inmates exposes a swelling epidemic in prisons.
Prisoners with hepatitis C face restrictive policies that focus on nonmedical factors, such as length of sentence when determining who receives treatment. Nationally, more than 1.3 million inmates with the disease are released from custody every year.
Providing timely and necessary testing and treatment to prisoners saves the public healthcare system money. When left untreated, prisoners with hepatitis C may face more costly treatment for end-stage liver disease or transplants. Everyone suffers when we let infectious diseases in prisons and jails grow without treatment.
Jackie Walker
Washington
The writer is the HIV/AIDS/hepatitis information coordinator for the ACLU’s National Prison Project.
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