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Committee approves $600,000 increase for jail medical services after administrator details high costs
Summary
Williamson County approved a $600,000 appropriation to the sheriff's detention medical budget after the jail administrator described unpredictable, high-cost medical cases—one detainee's bills totaled about $172,000—prompting questions about state reimbursement and TennCare eligibility.
The Williamson County Budget Committee approved a $600,000 appropriation May 4 to the sheriff's detention budget to cover medical services, citing unpredictable and occasionally very high costs for inmate care.
Committee member discussion flagged the unpredictability of medical bills for detainees. "We had a gentleman here recently who had some cancer of the spine, and his medical bills were $172,000," the jail administrator said while explaining the request. The administrator added that some detainees are judicially committed and not yet transferred to state custody, complicating reimbursement; TennCare may not cover care if the stay in hospital is under 24 hours.
Committee members asked whether some costs could be billed to the state when individuals are state inmates; staff responded reimbursement depends on the inmate’s status and paperwork. The committee moved and approved the $600,000 appropriation by voice vote and recorded it as unanimous.
The appropriation raises the detention medical allocation to a stated total of about $2.691 million, according to the administrator’s accounting during the meeting. Staff noted a third‑party vendor provides medical services and that TennCare eligibility and state pickup timing affect potential reimbursement.
