PROP 2: Impact on jail

I did not vote for Prop 2 because it won’t help with the overwhelming medical cost to our sheriff’s department.

Our county jail serves as a de facto mental health hospital, with one third of inmates in need of help. The mental health portion of Medicaid expansion will certainly relieve some of the burden. But if we can get people the help they need before incarceration, that would be a long-term cost saving measure.

Our sheriff’s department has plenty to do already. They don’t need to be a health care facility.

RUSS McLAIN

Coeur d’Alene