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Under Jerry Lee Lovelace Jr.'s watch, the denial and deferral rate of medical consult requests in the Nebraska Department of Corrections was about 15 times higher during his first seven months on the job than during the past 25 months of his predecessor, according to data from January 2021 to June 2024 that the York News-Times reported on earlier this month. 

The denials and deferrals included critical cancer screenings like colonoscopies and mammograms and orthopedic and dental care, spanning nearly all of the department's facilities and rightfully leading to questions and concerns from both incarcerated individuals and advocates.

Incarcerated individuals seeking to see prison medical staff must first submit a form to a nurse, who may refer the individual to the facility's health provider. If the health provider deems outside medical care is needed, a "consult" request, thousands of which are sent to the prison system's medical director.

Lovelace, who was appointed in October 2023, has said the review process for consult requests is “based on medical necessity, community standard of care and InterQual criteria — evidence-based guidelines used by health care organizations to assess the appropriateness of clinical care.� Such requests get four assessments: approval, partial approval, need additional information or an alternative treatment plan.

While this may indicate that not every deferral or denial is the end of the story, the rate at which such requests are handled certainly raises questions at a time when the state's prisons are over capacity. At the very least, incarcerated individuals under the state's care should receive treatment when they need it, so that when and if they reenter society, they can expect to have their health intact. 

Journal Star editorial board endorsements

The Journal Star editorial board concluded its endorsements Sunday with its pick in the presidential race (Vice President Kamala Harris). The board also endorsed in the 1st and 2nd Congressional District races (Rep. Mike Flood and state Sen. Tony Vargas), the paid sick leave measure (for), medical marijuana (for) and Referendum Measure 435 (to repeal LB1402, which gave state money to private schools). While the Senate races and competing abortion issues are of vital public interest, we were unable to endorse in those races before Monday’s deadline for letters to the editor. We view our editorial board endorsements as the start — or at least part — of the conversation, so we chose not to endorse in those races because we could not give readers time to respond to our endorsement.

— Dave Bundy, editor