CMC awarded contracts with county, federal prison system
JUNE 20, 2007--UTMB will soon be providing medical care for individuals in Galveston County Jail and the 5,700 male inmates at the Federal Correctional Complex in Beaumont.
Galveston County agreed to a 26-month contract, with options for renewal, that will begin Aug. 1
The county will pay about $207,500 monthly for the first 14 months, and $216,360 for the following 12 months for the care of 1,000 inmates. If the average daily population increases beyond this number, additional dollars are paid according to a formula.
The Gulf Coast Center will pay UTMB $14,000 per month for on-site and on-call mental health services. UTMB has successfully provided correctional health care services to the Brazoria County Jail under a similar agreement for the past four years.
“We will offer a full range of medical services beginning with on-site medical assessments at intake, chronic and emergent medical management in the jail and hospital-based care, when necessary,” said John Allen, administrative director of UTMB’s correctional managed care program. Mental health treatment will be provided in partnership with the Gulf Coast Center.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons contract is for one year, with the option for renewals. It is valued at about $99 million over the next five years and will enable UTMB to provide comprehensive medical care to the federal inmates in Beaumont.
It is CMC’s second largest contract; first is the $400 million contract with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice to provide comprehensive health services each year to 80 percent of the state’s inmate population.
“We’re thrilled to be selected as the medical provider,” said Jack Smith, associate director of business development for UTMB’s Correctional Managed Care division. UTMB will offer a full range of medical, dental and mental health services for all inmates, as needed. Those who need specialized care will be treated at Hospital Galveston, the UTMB correctional hospital in Galveston. Medical emergencies will continue to be treated at local area hospitals, he said.
UTMB’s CMC division has been the medical provider for the facility since it opened about 10 years ago. According to Smith, this is the only prison in the federal system that contracts with another agency to provide all of its health services.
UTMB’s Correctional Managed Care program provides health care for offenders in more than 100 juvenile and adult correctional facilities through much of the state. A division of UTMB’s Community Health Services, CMC offers medical, dental and mental health services to more than 126,000 patients or about 80 percent of the state’s inmate population.