Prisoners will have to pay for their second set of clothing, underwear and footwear if a proposed plan moves forward.Government will also no longer foot the bill for health insurance coverage for all prisoners.Minister of Justice Kim Wilson announced the proposals in the Senate yesterday as cost-cutting measures necessary “in these times of economic challenges”.She said they came about after “an analysis of the cost of insurance versus the actual amounts claimed”.“The result is that instead of insuring every inmate with HIP, the Department of Corrections insures approximately 40 inmates who have qualified for insurance,” said Senator Wilson.Inmates who qualify include those with long-term illnesses like diabetes.Sen Wilson said: “The costs of medical attention for the remaining inmates will be paid on a case-by-case basis as incurred.”Based on past claims she said: “It is anticipated that with this change Government will save between $200,000 and $300,000 during this budget year.”DOC also intends to cut costs “by charging inmates for the secondary issue of clothing and footwear”.The Minister said: “It is being proposed that any subsequent issue of such articles will be charged against the inmate’s canteen account.“The canteen accounts are used as personal accounts for inmates.”Family members and friends of inmates deposit funds which are used by inmates to cover costs of “incidentals such as toiletries”.According to Sen Wilson: “The cumulative effect of these measures is that they afford the opportunity to directly cut costs by allowing inmates to earn money toward their upkeep.”Inmates in the work release programme, which comes in the final phase of corrective rehabilitation, earn money which is kept in an account and given to them when they are discharged from prison.Sen Wilson added: “While we uphold international human rights standards through these programmes the public also benefits from the spin-off effects of employability of former inmates as well as initial resources afforded to them to begin life after incarceration.”The Senator noted that an arrangement between the Ministry of Public Works and DOC that saw inmates hired upon release, “has recently been temporarily suspended due to budget cuts”.However a similar programme “is in the advanced stages of development”, she said.Two out of three inmates who worked with the West End Development Corporation while in prison were hired as full-time employees by Wedco upon their release.“In this way society is also afforded benefits that are incalculable,” said Sen Wilson.The annual cost to house, feed and clothe Bermuda’s prison population is $81,000 per inmate per year. According to Commissioner of Corrections Edward Lamb, there are 271 inmates “spread between Westgate Correctional Facility, the Prison Farm and Co-ed”.“These costs are clearly related to providing and maintaining high standards of safety and security but, also for the heavy emphasis we place on rehabilitation,” he said.