Sheriffs, jail medical providers suing state over prescription med law

BRAINERD — Several Minnesota sheriffs and jail medical providers are suing over a new law concerning prescription medications for inmates, including Crow Wing, Pennington and Becker county sheriffs and Becker and St. Louis counties.

The amendment to state statute requires jails to administer medications to incarcerated people if those meds were prescribed before the people were booked into jail.

The civil complaint against Paul Schnell, Minnesota Department of Corrections commissioner, argues the law would take away discretion from local providers to determine what’s best for the inmates and the situation. The sheriffs and medical providers say it isn’t always possible to confirm someone’s prescription in a timely manner, especially because inmates arrive at all hours.

"Despite reasonable, timely, and good faith efforts of those nursing professionals, the lack of response and availability of information from these outside sources can make it difficult or impossible to verify outside prescriptions, especially for inmates who are not local residents," the lawsuit states.

"Moreover, detainees are often poor historians and may not recall the name of the provider or clinic who prescribed the medication."

Health care provider plaintiffs in the suit include Advanced Correctional Healthcare, USA Medical & Psychological Staffing, Freedom Behavioral Health, Dr. Jamie Hammerbeck, Dr. Tammy Provatas and certified nurse practitioners Kathryn Breon and Kathryn Piha. Also suing are the Minnesota Sheriff's Association, Becker County, Becker County Sheriff Todd Glander, Crow Wing County Sheriff Eric Klang, Freeborn County Sheriff Ryan Shea, Pennington County Sheriff Sean Vettleson, St. Louis County and Todd County.

According to the plaintiffs, prescribing providers are often inexperienced in issues confronting correctional health care providers, "such as concurrent use of street drugs, levels of alcohol consumption, drug diversion and misuse in correctional facilities, 'provider shopping' resulting in multiple prescriptions by different providers, and other security-related issues."

Klang said in the Crow Wing County Jail, they work to obtain medical records and confirm prescriptions as soon as possible. But in the meantime, they need to rely on the medical professionals in the jail and not necessarily take an inmate at their word.

"If you get somebody that comes in and says, ‘Hey, I'm on Ambien,’ but the guy’s under the influence, we have to give them Ambien, you know," Klang said of a sleeping medication in a phone interview Wednesday, July 2. "And it's like, the doctors aren't — they don't want to do that. Which makes sense, because you don't want to mix alcohol and Ambien."

The lawsuit states that complying with the law could result in harm or death to inmates and in civil liability for violating their constitutional rights. Not complying, on the other hand, could put a jail’s license in jeopardy.

"We don't take medicine and give it to them unless we order the medicine, so we know exactly what it is in a blister pack," Klang said. He also noted this means additional costs borne by the county to obtain those medications — a cost that is rarely recouped through the criminal justice system.

WCCO reported those who helped craft the legislation said reform is needed because people have suffered serious health consequences without their prescriptions.

"The organization [Communities United Against Police Brutality] says the statute was named after Larry R. Hill, the son of a former corrections officer who died in the Hennepin County Jail after not receiving his mental health medication," according to WCCO.

The law was supposed to take effect on Tuesday, but Attorney General Keith Ellison agreed to postpone until Aug. 1 while the court considers an injunction.