Only in America: The price of mental health

California taxpayers paid a prison psychiatrist $822,302 last year — and more in our collection of strange revelations about the nation

The price of mental health
(Image credit: ThinkStock/iStockphoto)

California taxpayers paid a prison psychiatrist $822,302 last year — five times more than the governor — and 92 other psychiatrists more than $300,000, a Bloomberg investigation found. As a result of a court order that compelled the state to improve inmate care, Dr. Mohammad Safi — who got his medical degree in Afghanistan — was on call 17 hours a day, including many weekends. "They ask me to work because there aren't enough people," Safi said.

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