Bill > H1628

This bill proposes to amend Chapter 127 of the General Laws by adding a new section that allows the Commissioner of the Department of Correction or a Sheriff to ask a court for permission to move an inmate who is terminally ill or permanently incapacitated to a different location for medical care. This alternative location could be a hospital, nursing facility, hospice program, or another place that can provide hospice services from a licensed entity, or a residential care facility, as long as it doesn't pose a risk to public safety. The inmate's condition must be certified by the facility's physician or medical director. The bill also states that the Commissioner or Sheriff will keep track of these transferred inmates and can order them back to prison if a doctor later determines their condition is no longer terminal or incapacitating, or if the care outside the facility is no longer medically appropriate.