Access to Correctional Health Care

Problems with access to medical care for inmates are exacerbated by overcrowding. Anecdotal evidence suggests that HIV, staph, tuberculosis, and other diseases are rising.

It is extremely difficult to track information on medical care at TDCJ. TDCJ no longer provides care directly to inmates. Instead that job has been given to the Correction Managed Health Care Committee (CMHCC), which has contracted with two Texas medical schools to provide treatment. The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston (UTMB) provides treatment for roughly 80% of inmates, while the Texas Tech Health Science Center (TTHSC) provides treatment for the remaining 20%.

Hepatitis C
PJAP has documented that TDCJ knows of over 20,000 cases of Hepatitis C in their prisons already. Outside research suggest that the actual numbers might be twice as high.

HIV/AIDS:
HB 43 was passed by the 79R Legislature and went into effect on September 1, 2005. The legislation mandates TDCJ to test inmates prior to their release into the free community for HIV. Already, there has been a significant increase in the rate of diagnosed HIV infections from previous years.

The exposure to HIV has implications for the every one in the state. The majority of the incarcerated population will be released in to the free community in the future; some studies put this figure at 97%. As a result, containing the spread of HIV in the correctional setting through policies that protect public health impacts the well being of every Texan.

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