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| Prison Health Care At Center Of Budget Debate |
| By thestatecolumn.com |
| Published: 02/01/2011 |
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SACRAMENTO — Amid a $25-billion state budget deficit, the state Assembly Committee on Accountability and Administrative Review sought to improve transparency and contain costs in the state’s prison system during a hearing Wednesday in the Capitol. The Committee questioned the head of state prison health care services, Receiver J. Clark Kelso, about dramatic increases in costs and staffing levels in state prisons related to inmate medical care, exorbitant salaries and expenses by consultants to the Receiver’s Office, and a high-priced contract the Receiver signed with a health care provider whose costs remain secret. The Committee voted on a bi-partisan basis to develop legislation to improve transparency in health care contracting and to seek further review of staffing and consultant costs. “At a time when we’re facing terrible budget decisions that might cut health insurance for kids and seniors, this Committee is determined to cut costs in prison health care,’’ said Assemblyman Roger Dickinson, D-Sacramento, chairman of the Committee. Prison health care costs have grown from $1.5 billion to $2 billion in five years, and health care staffing levels inside state prisons have more than doubled during that period. A Committee investigation found that the Receiver’s Office was paying multiple consultants as much as $50,000 a month in salary, as well as for expenses such as housing, dry cleaning and meals. Read More. |
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