ROCKDALE COUNTY, GA — The Rockdale County Jail is seeing a significant increase in the number of detainees requiring treatment for HIV, leading to higher medical expenses for the county.
The Rockdale County Sheriff’s Office requested more than $27,000 in budgeted county funds to cover medical care for detainees. In September alone, the county spent more than $27,000 on HIV treatment.
During a county commission meeting, Jail Health Services Administrator Erman Gunindi said the number of inmates receiving HIV treatment has increased from approximately three patients per day four years ago to nine or 10 today.
“Our average monthly population of HIV patients was about three. We’re at 9 to 10 now,” Gunindi said.
NaphCare, the company contracted to provide medical services at the jail, is responsible for treating those patients.
According to Gunindi, HIV medication costs approximately $4,000 to $6,000 per patient each month.
The rising expenses have also raised concerns about the jail’s ability to use health insurance to help cover treatment costs.
Gunindi explained that detainees are asked about their insurance coverage during intake, but many are unable to provide the necessary information.
“At intake, ask the patient if they have private insurance, if they do we document it, if we have the information, policy number, etc, we’ll put it in their chart; but it’s far and few between at our jail,” Gunindi said.
Without that information, the jail cannot apply insurance coverage to medical expenses. Once detainees are sentenced, private insurance and Medicaid can no longer be used to cover their treatment.
The reason behind the increase in inmates requiring HIV treatment remains unclear.
NaphCare said the higher numbers could reflect an increase in HIV cases within the community or improvements in diagnosing and treating existing infections.
The company also said it is unaware of any HIV transmission occurring inside the jail.
Federal data shows approximately 1% of inmates in state and federal prisons nationwide have HIV. That percentage declined consistently for decades before beginning to rise again in 2021.
WSB Radio’s Ashley Simmons & MaryRyan Howarth contributed to this story.
