Thread: IA with TB refuses treatment -Costs public thousands in care

llegal immigrant with TB refuses treatment
Costs public thousands in care

T.M. Shultz

An illegal immigrant from Mexico with tuberculosis cost the public thousands of dollars in unreimbursed health care this past year after Yavapai County Community Health Services workers spent two months overseeing the patient’s TB care before the patient died of other medical complications.

County officials estimate that it cost somewhere between $5,305 to $8,564 to care for the patient and to test the people who came in contact with the person. If any of those people eventually come down with TB, the cost to the county will increase.

County officials said because the person - whom they would not identify by name or gender - eventually refused to take the numerous medications required of TB patients, they thought about sending the person to an isolation unit in a Phoenix jail for supervision. The Yavapai County Jail does not have the room to isolate a TB patient from the rest of the population or equipment to oversee dispensing TB medications.

“When we told this to the person, the person said, ‘I don’t care. I’ll die in Phoenix,’â€

County officials estimate that it cost somewhere between $5,305 to $8,564 to care for the patient and to test the people who came in contact with the person. If any of those people eventually come down with TB, the cost to the county will increase.

And if any of those people eventually come down with TB, the cost will continue to increase, and if any of those people........................

Originally Posted by had_enuf

County officials estimate that it cost somewhere between $5,305 to $8,564 to care for the patient and to test the people who came in contact with the person. If any of those people eventually come down with TB, the cost to the county will increase.

And if any of those people eventually come down with TB, the cost will continue to increase, and if any of those people........................

had_enuf...Have you had enough???