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Prison Health Care Privatization Case Sent Back To Circuit Court
September 27, 2012
The latest challenge to Florida’s plan to privatize prison-health services has been sent back to circuit court by the 1st District Court of Appeal, online dockets show. State employee unions went to the appeals court September14 to try to block the Department of Corrections from contracting with two companies to provide inmate health care.
But last week, the case was transferred to Leon County circuit court, where an earlier challenge to the privatization plan died in July. In their filing with the appeals court, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and the Federation of Physicians and Dentists/Alliance of Healthcare and Professional Employees said privatization opponents had tried to block the contracting process in the circuit court but had been “unable to obtain a judgment on the merits.”
The long-running dispute stems from a decision by state lawmakers in 2011 to approve prison health privatization in budget fine print, known as “proviso” language.
AFSCME and the Florida Nurses Association early this year challenged the constitutionality of that move. Leon County Circuit Judge Kevin Carroll in July declined to rule on the constitutional question because the proviso language had expired with the June 30 end of the fiscal year. That led the Department of Corrections to move forward under other parts of state law to privatize the services.
Wexford Health Sources is expected to receive a contract for prisons in South Florida, and Corizon, Inc., would serve prisons in other regions.
By The News Service of Florida
Comments
One Response to “Prison Health Care Privatization Case Sent Back To Circuit Court”
If this is going to save the taxpayer then make the case for it don’t try to slide it in on the back of the budget. Rick Scott has made this a priority so it makes me wonder what the motivation could be.
Follow the money.