Published: Wednesday, October 1, 2014 at 3:55 p.m. Last Modified: Wednesday, October 1, 2014 at 11:19 p.m.

After close to a decade with the same private health care provider treating inmates in the county jail, the Volusia County Council will decide today whether to keep the countrys largest and perhaps most controversial jail medical contractor or switch to a new company.

Volusias expiring contract with Corizon, the corrections giant that has contracts in more than 500 facilities around the country, has opened up the Volusia Branch Jail to two new bidders: Correct Care Solutions, which is in almost 500 correctional facilities, and Armor Correctional Health services, which is in less than 60.

The decision is a roughly $25 million one, with a three-year contract up for grabs covering an estimated $8 million in annual costs. It will affect the health of thousands of people who spend time behind bars, many of them in poor health, facing untreated mental conditions or dealing with substance abuse.

People think we just shove people in the corner and give them an aspirin, Volusia County Manager Jim Dinneen said of the health care at the jail, which conducts about 25,000 medical screenings on intake each year. We do the things that we are legally responsible for, but also the things we think are morally appropriate.

Corizon, formerly Prison Health Services, has been under contract with Volusia since 2005. Before that, the contract belonged to the publicly supported Halifax Health system. The county initially had planned to recommend renewing the Corizon contract this year, then changed course and decided to accept bids. Dinneen said it was time to test the water, particularly because of the changes that have occurred in health care over the past decade. Halifax did not submit a bid.

The St. Louis, Missouri-based Corizon is the medical provider in 75 state correctional facilities in Florida (under a 5-year, $1.2 billion contract that started last year), along with eight county jails like Volusias. It has faced criticism over the years, including last week, when state Department of Corrections Secretary Mike Crews threatened to withhold payments amid concerns that the level of care continues to fall below the contractually required standard, according to a letter Crews sent the company.

The jail medical clinics are vastly different from prison clinics in large part because of the population. Prison inmates are in custody long-term. Jail inmates come and go, and many of them are less likely to get medical treatment after they leave the jail. That can lead to required further treatment if theyre arrested again.

We are the front line, Volusias director of public protection George Recktenwald said.

Like health care costs in general, jail medical costs have risen. The cases treated vary widely, from simple physical illnesses, dental issues and infections to specialty services that require hospital transport. Some of the jails recent expensive medical cases include an attempted suicide (six weeks of hospital care), an inmate with multiple gunshot wounds (three weeks in the hospital, plus 18 visits and several surgeries), a Pacemaker replacement and, in the past year, 10 babies delivered.

View original post here:

Jail health care up for vote