Analysis Of When Prisoners Are Patients, By Theresa Brown

In society today, when someone breaks the law, they are sent to prison to be punished. Prison, in one perspective, values rehabilitation for the prisoners; however, it does not actually focus on helping the prisoners. The social stigma of having the label of a prisoner is detrimental to the chance of success after they are released. Therefore, prisoner incarceration and recidivism rates in the United States are among the highest in the world. In the article "When Prisoners Are Patients," Theresa Brown elaborates on personal stories involving inmates in the prison healthcare system in her work as a nurse. Towards the end of the article, she shifts her focus away from inmates and onto global healthcare. While Brown is correct in her argument …show more content…
Everyone should have the right to health, whether it be a free person or a prisoner. The topic of universal healthcare is controversial; however, every human being should have the option to be healthy. The main issue, Brown declares, is "money and the profit motive being injected into every possible health care experience" (Brown 3). Before a doctor will even treat someone, insurance information is demanded. Today, health care is more about money and less about helping people. The oligopoly of insurance companies controls the price of human health and that fact is seen as immoral by a countless amount of people. Many Americans die from preventable diseases that could not afford to get the treatment they needed. According to a study by the U.S. Department of Justice, half of all inmates have a mental health problem, while only one in three prison inmates go without mental health treatment (Daniel 1). If insurance companies did not exist, health could be available for everyone. Brown commented briefly on the fact that the American health care system is focused on money solely, not helping people, and how universal health care would help many