Judiciary committee advances bill to remove medical co‑pays for people in DOC, adds three‑year repeal test

The House Judiciary Committee voted to send House Bill 1026 to the Appropriations Committee on May 20 after adopting an amendment that will repeal the bill three years after it takes effect.

The bill, sponsored by Representative Brooke Garcia, would eliminate medical co‑payments that people incarcerated in state correctional facilities now pay for medical visits, dental, mental‑health and some optometric services. The committee adopted an amendment to repeal the change effective July 1, 2028.

Supporters said the fees block access to care for people earning only pennies or a few dollars a day in prison work programs. "This is a bill about access. This is a bill about making sure that human rights still exist even if you've made a mistake and you're incarcerated," Representative Brooke Garcia said. Vice Chair Carter told the committee the measure is about preserving dignity and access to treatment for people in custody.

Opponents and some committee members focused on the bill's fiscal note. Aaron Carpenter, the committee fiscal analyst, said the Department of Corrections reported collecting $157,000 in medical co‑payments last year and that the long‑bill appropriation includes a roughly $307,000 cash‑fund spending authorization tied to DOC inmate medical services. "If they aren't getting that, in order to keep that a $144,000,000 cost, the cost needs to be backfilled from the general fund," Carpenter said. Committee members pressed sponsors and DOC representatives for clearer accounting of where the collected fee revenue is spent; witnesses and fiscal staff said the receipts are recorded as cash‑fund revenue on the medical services line but may not sit in a discrete, long‑term balance.

Witnesses who testified in support described the co‑pays as a barrier to care and cited research and lived experience. Candace Bailey, who identified herself as formerly incarcerated and now a policy and advocacy manager, said the typical DOC daily wage (she cited roughly 60¢ a day in some examples) makes a $3 to $5 co‑pay effectively unaffordable and can create rolling negative account balances. Lillian Patil of the Fines and Fees Justice Center noted doc schedule documents showing cash‑fund spending less than appropriations in fiscal 2024 and argued the revenue impact may be small relative to DOC's general‑fund spending.

Opponents warned of perverse incentives and no‑show fees; witness Erin Meschke testified in opposition saying missed‑appointment fees encourage attendance and that removing charges could increase no‑shows. Sponsors responded that the adopted three‑year repeal amendment is intended as a trial to gather data on use, no‑shows and costs and to enable the legislature to revisit the policy.

The committee vote on HB 1026 as amended was recorded as 8‑3 in favor of sending the bill to Appropriations. The adopted amendment (L001) adds a statutory repeal effective July 1, 2028, and sponsors said they will continue working with DOC and fiscal staff to refine accounting and reporting on collections and how the money is used.

If enacted, the bill would remove co‑payments for person‑initiated health care requests while incarcerated; the fiscal implications for the general fund remain a point of follow‑up between the committee, the fiscal analyst and DOC.

The bill now goes to the Appropriations Committee; sponsors said they will return with updated DOC data and suggested interim reporting to answer outstanding budget questions.