What in the world is it with Obama and criminals? He releases them early and acts as if they were wrongly accused. Perhaps, in his eyes they were wrongly accused but he’s not judge, jury and executioner. He’s said he feels like African American males have been wronged in the criminal justice system when it comes to drug charges. In other words, they are the victims!
“About one in every 35 African American men, one in every 88 Latino men is serving time … African Americans are more likely to be arrested.” – Obama
A new federal audit just came out and it looks like Obama favors criminals over just about everyone in the military and our senior citizens too!
President Obama has repeatedly demonstrated that there’s an extra special place in his heart for incarcerated criminals, but this is a bit much. The administration spends a lot more money on the medical care of jailed convicts than retired seniors on Medicare, active U.S. military personnel or veterans, including an extra $100 million in one year alone, according to a federal audit released this month.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) consistently pays outside doctors and hospitals more to treat inmates than Medicare or other federal agencies would pay for the same services, according to the report which is the result of a Department of Justice (DOJ) Inspector General investigation. “We found that the BOP is the only federal agency that pays for medical care that is not covered under a statute or regulation under which the government sets the agency’s reimbursement rates, usually at the Medicare rate,” the report states. “Instead, the BOP solicits and awards a comprehensive medical services contract for each BOP institution to obtain outside medical services.”
This means the BOP negotiates its own rates for medical services, which is outrageous and ends up costing American taxpayers tens of millions of dollars annually. Without the cost regulations that apply to all other federal agencies, the BOP pays a premium above applicable Medicare rates for medical care. In fiscal year 2014, for instance, the BOP spent at least $100 million more for medical care than it would have if it had paid Medicare rates. Other law enforcement agencies, including those within the DOJ like the U.S. Marshals Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), stay within the Medicare rates to provide outside medical services for individuals in their custody. So does the Department of Defense (DOD), the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Indian Health Service to treat members of the military and their dependents, veterans and Native Americans.
In many cases the same medical providers that work for other federal agencies, charge the BOP a premium above the Medicare rate when treating inmates, the DOJ watchdog reveals. From fiscal year 2010 to 2014, BOP spending for outside medical services increased 24%, from $263 million to $327 million and the figure is only going to increase. “Medical spending constitutes a significant and increasing portion” of the BOP’s budget, the IG found. Specifically, the agency spent $905 million of its $6.2 billion budget on inmate medical care in one year alone, according to the figures provided in the report. This includes salaried BOP medical staff, prescription drugs, medical supplies and outside providers. In all, the agency purchases outside medical care at inflated rates for more than 170,000 inmates nationwide at a cost of more than $300 million annually. The contracts have reimbursement rates at least 15% above the Medicare benchmark rate, the report says.
Read more: Judicial Watch
