Lawsuit alleges people imprisoned in Alaska receive inadequate health care

JUNEAU, Alaska — A federal lawsuit filed on behalf of people imprisoned in Alaska alleges the state Department of Corrections provides inadequate medical, mental health and dental care, calling it a systemic issue that goes back years.

The class action lawsuit filed Thursday by the American Civil Liberties Union of Alaska and ACLU National Prison Project names as defendants Gov. Mike Dunleavy and corrections officials. Corrections spokesperson Betsy Holley declined comment Friday, saying the agency had not yet seen a copy of the lawsuit. The Alaska Department of Law also had not been served, spokesperson Sam Curtis said.

At any one time, about 4,400 people are in Department of Corrections custody, including people who are being detained before trials, according to the lawsuit. It says the state “routinely” denies medical services to incarcerated people based on their pre-trial status and says people often end up for years in corrections facilities while awaiting trial due to court system delays in handling criminal cases. The lawsuit cites as examples individuals who it says were denied needed eye surgery or dental treatment other than tooth extraction because of their pretrial status.

The lawsuit also claims the state fails to provide “timely or adequate” access to health care and specialty care, denies access to assistive devices and doesn't have enough health care staff. It asks a judge to order the state to develop and implement a plan addressing the concerns.