What is Medical Parole, When Is It Granted?
Like compassionate release, some prisoners who are medically incapacitated or terminally ill may qualify for medical parole.
Medical parole is not available for those sentenced to death or to life without the possibility of parole (LWOP), or those convicted of first-degree murder of a peace officer. Penal Code § 3550(b); 15 C.C.R. § 3359.1.
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) states that to be eligible for medical parole, a person must be permanently incapacitated with a medical condition that renders the person permanently unable to perform activities of basic daily living and in need of 24-hour care. The incapacitation must not have existed at the time of sentencing. Penal Code § 3550(a); Penal Code § 3559.1(a).
Eligibility for medical parole includes (1) people who are physically or cognitively debilitated or incapacitated due to a significant and permanent condition, disease or syndrome; and (2) people who quality for placement in a licensed health care facility, as determined by a Resource Utilization Guide IV (RUG IV) Assessment Tool. Board of Parole Hearings, Memorandum: Expanded Medical Parole (June 16, 2014).
A request for medical parole can be made by the person, their family or attorney, or by medical staff. 15 C.C.R. 3359.1(b). Within 30 days of receiving a request for medical parole, the primary care physician should evaluate the person’s medical condition, and the chief medical officer (CMO) or chief medical executive (CME) should decide whether the person meets the medical criteria. If the person does meet the criteria, CDCR staff should prepare an evaluation report and placement plan. Penal Code § 3550(c) – (d); 15 C.C.R. § 3359.2.
The inmate’s case will then be sent to the Board of Parole Hearings (BPH) to determine whether the release would “reasonably” pose a threat to public safety. Penal Code § 3559.1(d); 15 C.C.R. § 3359.1(d). The BPH will conduct a medical parole hearing in front of a two-member panel. The structure of the hearing is the same as a regular parole suitability hearing, but it may be held without the inmate present. If there is a tie vote, the matter will be referred to the full BPH for a decision. Penal Code § 3550(d) – (g); BPH, Memorandum: Expanded Medical Parole (June 16, 2014).
If medical parole is approved, the BPH panel will specify the licensed health care facility requirements necessary for the person’s placement not to pose an unreasonable risk to public safety.
The CDCR has 120 days to find space in an available licensed health care facility that meets these requirements. If no facility can be found, the medical parole grant will expire and the person will remain in a CDCR facility. The CDCR can enter into agreements with health care providers and reimburse those providers for medical care costs that are not covered by Medi-Cal. Penal Code § 2065.
As with other forms of parole, a person on medical parole is subject to supervision and must comply with any conditions of parole. Special conditions of parole may include GPS monitoring and examinations by a doctor to determine if the person remains medically incapacitated. Penal Code § 3550(b); 15 C.C.R. § 3359.3; 15 C.C.R. § 3359.5.
A person on medical parole may be returned to custody if his or her condition improves to the extent that they no longer quality for medical parole, does not comply with the conditions of parole, or is a threat to self, another person, or public safety. A person on medical parole also can be returned to prison if the licensed health care facility no longer meets the BPH”s requirements. 15 C.C.R. § 3559.6; BPH, Memorandum: Expanded Medical Parole (June 16, 2014).
Unless a person is removed from medical parole, a person with a determinate sentence can remain on medical parole until their normal prison release date, at which point any regular parole period begins. A person with an indeterminate will become eligible for consideration under regular parole suitability provisions once he or she reaches his or her maximum eligible parole date.
This article would not have been possible without the great work of the Prison Law Office and their treatise, California Prison and Parole Law Handbook, which is an invaluable resource.
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