New Mexico seeks better oversight of prison health contract
The New Mexico Corrections Department is inviting new vendors to take a crack at providing health care to the about 7,000 men and women held in the state’s prison system.
The current provider, Centurion LLC, won the contract away from Corizon Health in 2016, amid a flurry of medical malpractice lawsuits from inmates and an investigation by The New Mexican that revealed the latter had largely operated without state oversight for years.
But as Centurion’s contract — worth more than $41 million per year — nears its November expiration date, the state still has not completed a comprehensive audit of Centurion’s services at each of New Mexico’s 11 prisons, making it difficult to find an objective measure of the company’s performance.
Newly appointed Corrections Secretary-designate Alisha Tafoya Lucero declined to rate her level of satisfaction with Centurion, saying she wasn’t “comfortable” doing so.
Read more: https://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/new-mexico-seeks-better-oversight-of-prison-health-contract/article_a7e30edf-7d84-520e-b90a-daf59da96cd6.html