The state Supreme Court dropped a lump of coal — and a potentially costly one at that — into taxpayers’ stockings with its ruling regarding inmate medical care.

The court ruled 8-0 in December that counties are liable for inmates’ medical care even if the ailments predate their arrival at the jail. The decision came in a dispute involving the Oklahoma County jail, which had refused $2.2 million in payments for some prisoners during a three-year span because the care was for inmates’ pre-existing medical conditions.

The Supreme Court noted that state law says a provider of medical treatment to the incarcerated can seek payment from the inmate and the county. Since many inmates are indigent or lack extensive financial means, county jails most often will wind up on the hook for those expenses.

The ruling is a severe blow for counties — devastating was the adjective used by Dave Herbert, who lobbies for county officials. Herbert made the point that in the large majority of cases, county jail inmates have been arrested for state crimes but are held at the county lockup.

While Oklahoma and Tulsa counties will be hit hard because they house the largest county jails, so too will smaller counties. Oklahoma County Commissioner Ray Vaughn said a county with a small jail budget could be pinched financially by just one inmate with a heart condition.

Vaughn wants help from the Legislature, where he served 16 years. He’ll seek a bill that amends the law to say counties are excluded from having to pay inmates’ care for pre-existing conditions. Vaughn said providers would still be able to seek reimbursement through Medicaid and from a state fund already in place.

We’ll see if his former colleagues come to the rescue.

— The Oklahoman, Oklahoma City