Medical Co‑Pays at Western Tidewater: What Services Cost and What’s Free
Western Tidewater charges co-pays for medical and physician visits. Routine appointments can add up on your loved one's account, even when care happens inside the jail.
Nurse Sick Call: $10 co-payment.
Doctor Sick Call (in jail): $25 co-payment.
Outpatient specialist doctor visit: $35 co-payment.
Higher-acuity care costs more. Emergency Room visits carry a $100 co-pay, and ambulance transport is another $100. Hospital admission runs $200 per day.
Some services have no co-pay. Western Tidewater doesn't charge for the admitting physical screening, in-house follow-up visits to sick call, medical emergencies (as determined by medical staff), or the initial mental health screening. Worried about after-hours care? Medical staff are on duty 24 hours a day for emergencies. When staff determine something qualifies as a true medical emergency, that care is treated as no-charge.
Eye care can hit harder than families expect. At Western Tidewater, the inmate pays the full cost for eye appointments and glasses - no partial coverage.
Dental coverage has clear limits. Western Tidewater won't pay for dentures, crowns, or teeth cleaning.
Medical co-pays don't just disappear - they become a balance owed. Western Tidewater charges inmates for co-pays (and damaged jail property, among other items) during incarceration, and that balance is due upon release. Unless special arrangements are made, the full amount must be paid within 30 days.
Warning: If the balance isn’t paid within 30 days, the debt may be turned over to a collection agency and other remedies may be pursued, including withholding of tax refunds.
- ✓ Ask medical staff to explain what charges were assessed and why.
- ✓ At release, ask jail administration/booking about making special repayment arrangements if the balance can’t be paid in full.
- ✓ Get documentation of any repayment agreement so there’s no confusion later.
Want to avoid a surprise balance snowballing into a bigger problem? Focus on clarity and a plan. Have your loved one ask medical staff about any co-pays assessed, then discuss repayment arrangements upon release if paying within 30 days isn't realistic. Western Tidewater's own language says "special arrangements" can be made - address this before that 30-day clock runs out.
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