Published: October 07, 2008 08:42 am      

Westmoreland jail refusing furloughed inmate’s medical tab

GREENSBURG, Pa. — A Westmoreland County jail is fighting $544,000 medical bill for an inmate whom they rushed to furlough minutes after he tried to commit suicide by leaping over a railing onto tables and a concrete floor.

The Westmoreland County Prison Board has decided to fight the bill, which UPMC Presbyterian hospital in Pittsburgh is insisting the jail pay.

In a letter to the prison board, UPMC says the state’s medical assistance program has refused to pay for Tadd Naylor’s four-month hospital stay because he was in custody when he was injured.

The county tried to avoid the medical expenses by rushing to have a judge furlough Naylor in the moments before a medical helicopter could pick him up after the suicide attempt in May.

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Information from: Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, http://pghtrib.com