As Klickitat County officials discuss closing their local jail, talks have focused on making sure inmates are healthy and safe – concerns driven by a couple high-profile incidents.
Klickitat County Sheriff Bob Songer speaks at a public meeting Aug. 1, 2023. According to county staff, the Klickitat County Jail has a growing stack of invoices from Klickitat Valley Health, the local hospital that treats inmates when they need medical attention.
Troy Brynelson / OPB
But a recent analysis shows the county may have financial interests in closing the facility, too. According to county staff, the jail has a growing stack of invoices from Klickitat Valley Health, the local hospital that treats inmates when they need medical attention.
Klickitat County Jail owes $192,000 for unpaid hospital bills dating back to 2021, the analysis showed. The sheriff’s office told OPB they believe that number is inflated, but acknowledge inmates need more medical care than ever.
“There’s more visits to the hospital because we’re seeing more and more mental health issues,” Sheriff Bob Songer said. “The jails are being used as mental health holds… So, yeah, we do have an increase. What are we going to do? We have to address the issue.”
The jail has an annual $1.7 million budget, meaning the unpaid hospital bills would amount to 11% of the facility’s overall budget.
County officials asked staff to dive into the jail’s bookkeeping after they voted March 26 to close the county jail. They are considering entering into a contract with Northern Oregon Corrections – also known as NORCOR – in The Dalles.
The move came on the heels of a $20 million tort claim recently filed by the family of an inmate who committed suicide while enduring fentanyl withdrawal. The family, in their claim, wrote that jail staff neglected to catch warning signs Ivan Howtopat, 24, was a suicide risk.
And, last November, a female inmate had deteriorated so much that the jail took her to the hospital covered in bugs and nearly septic. A Goldendale Police Department officer on the scene wrote the inmate smelled “like dead rotting flesh.” The inmate has since been released.
Yet, Songer and other sheriff’s office officials said they believe the jail doesn’t owe the hospital quite as much money as reported. They said the hospital sends invoices that should be sent to other police departments.
“There’s work on the backend to confirm who is actually responsible for the bill,” said Chief Civil Deputy Karen Elings. Elings noted that the sheriff’s office used to pay for all other agencies’ bills first and reimburse later — a policy that has since changed.
Songer also said the hospital offers discounts to his agency and other law enforcement whenever staff give medical treatment to someone in custody. He suggested those invoices may not factor in the discount.
When asked if the sheriff’s office has a more reliable financial number, Elings told OPB she is waiting to hear back from the hospital. Hospital administrators were not available to comment by the time of publication of this story.
It’s also unclear from the county’s report how many hospital visits comprise that $192,000 figure. Songer and Elings said they didn’t have that number available.
The hospital is often the sole medical provider available to inmates. The jail’s primary medical resource is a physician’s assistant based more than 100 miles away. In emergencies, corrections deputies are authorized to call EMTs, who then decide whether someone should go to the hospital.
Brian Bea, the Vancouver-based physician’s assistant, said Thursday he couldn’t comment and referred all questions to Songer.
Besides hospital bills, the jail may see its insurance premiums spike. The financial analysis suggested the county is forecasting a rate hike between 20% and 30%. That would cost the jail an extra $107,648 or $116,619, respectively, next year.
That rise isn’t solely because of the reported incidents. Insurance premiums are rising double-digits every year for smaller counties, insurance officials told OPB.
“The demands on counties is at an all-time high,” said Derek Bryan, executive director of the Washington Counties Risk Pool. That association helps administer insurance programs for smaller counties throughout the state, including Klickitat County.
Insurance costs are mounting across the board, Bryan said, particularly when it comes to public safety. Juries are awarding higher settlements when cases go to trial. That is leading to both higher legal costs and — in cases that don’t make it to trial — higher settlement payouts.
In February 2022, the risk pool oversaw 253 open claims statewide that amounted to about $20 million total in legal costs. Today, 239 claims would cost closer to $65 million, Bryan said.