Providers say state contractor’s payment failures left EMS and hospitals unpaid; lawmakers press MDOC and DTMB for answers

Lawmakers pressed Michigan Department of Corrections and state procurement officials on Wednesday about a multi‑year prison health contract and unpaid medical bills that have left ambulance services and hospitals seeking legislative action.

Kyle Kaminski of the Michigan Department of Corrections and Jared Ambrosier, chief procurement officer for the Department of Technology, Management and Budget (DTMB), described the procurement and monitoring history of the contract that began with an RFP in 2020. The committee heard that Grand Prairie/Wellpath took over the statewide contract in September 2021, the state levied roughly $1.5 million in service‑level credits and issued 15 corrective action plans against the contractor, and that Grand Prairie later exited and declared bankruptcy. DMOC said VitalCore (VitalCorp in testimony) assumed the contract in early 2024 and was performing better as of May 2024.

Kaminski said the department levied $60,000 in credits specifically for untimely payment to subcontractors and detailed how the MDOC’s service‑level agreements require the prime contractor to pay subcontractors within 45 days of a clean claim. Kaminski emphasized the state paid Grand Prairie per the prime contract — "the state met its…