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Committee approves bill letting Department of Health reimburse sheriffs for inmates awaiting forensic hospital care
Summary
The House Labor, Health and Social Services Committee passed Senate File 10, which allows the Department of Health to enter contracts to reimburse county detention centers for Title 7 (criminal forensic) patients waiting for admission to the state hospital. Testimony cited 140–160 day average inpatient wait times and a $5 million biennial budget footnote.
The House Labor, Health and Social Services Committee on Thursday voted to pass Senate File 10, a bill that would let the Wyoming Department of Health contract with county sheriffs to reimburse costs for inmates held in local jails while awaiting transfer to the state hospital for forensic evaluation or restoration.
Art Washut, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, told lawmakers the measure grew out of complaints from sheriffs who said county jails were bearing the financial and operational burden while inmates waited months for admission to the state facility. "This bill creates a mechanism by which the Department of Health and individual sheriffs can enter into a contract so that the Department of Health can compensate those sheriffs for the time that these inmates are in their jail," Washut said.
The Department of Health’s director, Stefan Johansen, said the…
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