Officials discuss Ada County court case
WALLACE — This past week the Shoshone Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) met with county prosecuting attorney Keisha Oxendine and sheriff Mike Gunderson to bring an awareness to the state’s laws concerning medical treatment given to county inmates.
Earlier this year, the Idaho Supreme Court overturned a district court ruling in Ada County that could potentially send shockwaves across Shoshone County should a similar situation ever arise.
On March 26, 2014, an Ada County jail inmate unsuccessfully attempted suicide while in custody, which landed him in Saint Alphonsus, where he was hospitalized until late May of that year.
The inmate had an arraignment scheduled for the day following his suicide attempt, this for a second charge unrelated to the one he was already in custody for.
A pretrial conference in the first criminal case occurred on April 3, 2014, where the Ada County prosecuting attorney and defense counsel met with the magistrate judge in chambers where the judge was advised that patient had been charged in the second criminal case and was in the hospital after attempting suicide in the jail.
The minutes from that meeting indicate the judge was advised that patient was likely to survive, but his long-term health was in question.
The state moved to release the patient on his own recognizance in the first criminal case only and the magistrate judge granted the motion and entered an order of release.
The state’s motion advised the court that it wanted to release the patient so that his family could make necessary medical decisions and facilitate a possible transfer to another medical facility. The state also indicated that it intended to seek immediate reinstatement of the bond if the patient’s condition improved to the point he could be released from the hospital.
The magistrate court entered an order releasing the patient on his own recognizance in the second criminal case on April 4, 2014.
From there Ada County paid Saint Alphonsus for the time the patient/inmate spent in the hospital while in the custody of Ada County, from March 26 through April 4, 2014.
Saint Alphonsus believed that Ada County should have been on the hook for the entire hospital stay, or, from March 26, through his discharge in late May.
The district court disagreed with Saint Alphonsus and ruled in favor of Ada County, but after an appeal to the Idaho Supreme Court, that decision was overturned.
The Idaho Supreme Court ruled that Ada County was in violation of an Idaho State Amendment from 1994, which reads as follows:
The county wherein any court has entered an order pursuant to section 20-604, Idaho Code, shall pay all direct and indirect costs of the detention or confinement of the person to the governmental unit or agency owning or operating the jail or confinement facilities in which the person was confined or detained.
The amount of such direct and indirect costs shall be determined on a per day per person basis by agreement between the county wherein the court entered the order and the county or governmental unit or agency owning or operating such jail or confinement facilities.
In the absence of such agreement or order fixing the cost as provided in section 20-606, Idaho Code, the charge for each person confined or detained shall be the sum of thirty-five dollars ($35.00) per day, plus the cost of any medical or dental services paid at the unadjusted medicaid rate of reimbursement as provided in section 31–3502(4), Idaho Code, unless a rate of reimbursement is otherwise established by contract or agreement.
Release from an order pursuant to section 20-604, Idaho Code, for the purpose of a person receiving medical treatment shall not relieve the county of its obligation of paying the medical care expenses imposed in this section.
Oxendine's briefing on the subject was meant for nothing more than to let the BOCC know the potential gravity of the situation.
The BOCC wasn’t surprised to hear the ruling, but also acknowledged that if a situation similar to Ada County’s ever happened in Shoshone County, the results could be dire.
“It would be devastating for us,” commissioner Jay Huber said. “If we had a cardiac situation and the inmate had to go to Spokane per say, and then was hospitalized for any real length of time. Even if he or she was released from custody, it could wipe out our indigent fund.”
One of the few positives out of this for the counties is that they are only required to pay the Medicaid rate for any inmate medical needs, but even that would put a toll on the county.
The BOCC plans on exploring some potential options that could help insure that the county doesn’t face a situation such as this, but at this time is gaining an awareness to the potential issues that could come from a medical emergency within the jail.