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Wayne County seeks $350,000 to cover detention center medical shortfall amid contract change and high-cost safekeepers
Summary
County staff told commissioners they need an additional $350,000 to finish the fiscal year for detention center medical services, citing a new IMS contract, higher claim-scrubbing fees and final invoices to a prior vendor plus two high-cost safekeeper inmates.
County staff informed the Wayne County Board of Commissioners on Feb. 18, 2025 that the Detention Center was projecting an anticipated shortfall of about $350,000 in its medical services line and requested a budget amendment to cover March–June needs.
Staff said the Detention Center’s medical contract with IMS Correctional Healthcare is charged at $96,007.81 per month (annualized in presentations at roughly $1.16 million), and the county is also paying a new third-party bill-scrubbing vendor (Prime Health Services) that charges 19% of the savings they recover. Under the prior vendor, Southern Health Partners, claims-scrubbing had been provided at a flat rate; staff said the change in billing model increased costs. The county also noted final invoices owed to Southern Health Partners for fiscal 2023–24 in the amount of $75,006.70 that were paid after a review of timecards and staffing records.
Staff additionally reported two safekeeper inmates with unusually high medical bills (reported as about $115,000 combined this year) as a factor in the increase. Commissioners pressed for a detailed breakout of how the $350,000 figure was calculated; staff agreed to provide a more detailed explanation and a departmental breakdown.
The request was included in the set of budget amendments presented under the consent agenda and therefore moved forward as part of the consent vote the board approved later in the meeting. The transcript does not record an individual roll call on the separate amendment.
Ending: Commissioners asked for a written breakdown from the Sheriff’s Office showing the supporting calculations and components of the requested $350,000 increase before the board’s final budget reconciliation for the fiscal year.
