Corrections, Private Company Battling Over Florida Prison Health Contract

March 22, 2016

A prison health-care company is asking a judge to allow it to pursue a challenge to the Florida Department of Corrections’ decision in January to award a contract to another firm to provide health services at the majority of the state’s prisons.

Wexford Health Sources, Inc., filed a document in the state Division of Administrative Hearings arguing that it should be able to continue a formal protest against the department’s award of a $268 million contract to Centurion of Florida, LLC.

The department signed the contract with Centurion in January, after another firm, Corizon Health, decided to end its contract to provide services to about three-fourths of the state’s inmates. Wexford, which serves inmates in other parts of the state, filed a protest against the department’s decision to award the contract to Centurion.

But the department filed a motion March 2 arguing, in part, that the “contract with Centurion was authorized by statute,” and that Administrative Law Judge R. Bruce McKibben should “relinquish jurisdiction” in Wexford’s protest, a move that effectively would end it.

Wexford, however, fired back by arguing that it has grounds to protest the contract award and that the case ultimately should move forward.

“The subject of this proceeding is whether the DOC acted properly and legally when it entered into a no-bid contract for the provision of health services in certain regions of the state prison system for inmates in the custody of the DOC,” the Wexford document said.

Pictured: The medical facility inside the Century Correctional Institution. NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.

Comments

2 Responses to “Corrections, Private Company Battling Over Florida Prison Health Contract”

  1. JJ on March 22nd, 2016 2:42 pm

    Yep, Mr. Scott is looking out for his buddies, just like he did for his walk in clinics that he put in his wife’s name. This guy is a criminal, people. And, he is pushing himself to get on the Trump ticket. What a joke!

  2. chillywilly on March 22nd, 2016 9:16 am

     Welcome to Gov Rick Scotts World, Prison for Profit .NO BID CONTRACTS He is funneling the tax
    payers money to his corporate buddies that provide sub-standard care. I remember when FDOC had very professional and capable medical staff. on state payroll. The nurses fought for years to get the 3 %
    High Risk Retirement just like the officers since they had just as much contact
    with inmates as the officers. within a year FDOC and the Florida Legislators
    terminated all their jobs and let them all go and privatized medical services
    for FDOC. The state just keeps on settling lawsuits when inmates families sue the state, wasting even more of our tax dollars. Gov Scott spends 2 million dollars for a sea wall around a golf course and 1.3 million tax payer dollars to settle lawsuits against him for violating Florida Sunshine laws for open government. By the way State Correctional Officers have not had a raise in nine years. pathetic ,Corrupt and incompetent politicians are destroying our country and state Wake up Vote them out

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News