Atlanta-based Grady Health System is suing local governments for unpaid medical bills for the state's inmates who received care while in custody, according to WSB Atlanta. While Grady only has prisoner care agreements with two counties and the city of Atlanta, the health system still expects to be reimbursed by surrounding counties for medical services provided to prisoners in state custody.
County lawyers deny that individual cities and municipalities are responsible for these costs, instead suggesting the burden of payment should fall on the state to compensate Grady for incarcerated patients. "As you might expect, it is the responsibility of the state to provide medical treatment for prisoners who are in legal custody of the Department of Corrections," Douglas County attorney Theodore Freeman said. Article