Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Placement And Medical Contracts topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Idaho DOC seeks population and medical contract funding as per‑diems rise
Summary
The Department of Correction asked lawmakers for supplemental funding for county and out‑of‑state placements and for medical services after utilization and population projections exceeded earlier estimates; the agency warned a failed contract negotiation could increase medical costs by 30–40%.
The Idaho Department of Correction requested supplemental and ongoing appropriations to cover higher‑than‑expected county and out‑of‑state placements and increased medical utilization, Legislative Services Office analyst Noah Peterson said Feb. 4.
Peterson told the Joint Finance Preparations Committee that updated population projections drove a supplemental request to cover a mismatch between earlier FY2025 projections and current expectations. He said the agency seeks ongoing adjustments to baseline per‑diem funding for county and out‑of‑state placements and requested approximately $5.96 million to cover higher medical‑services utilization in FY2025.
Peterson said the medical services per‑diem adjustment was presented under the assumption that the department successfully negotiates a new contract with its current medical provider. “If those negotiations fall through … the agency is projecting a 30% to 40% increase in the medical contract” if it must be put out to bid, Peterson said.
Director Josh Tewalt added statutory context about county per‑diem rates. “You set those rates. The rates for county jails are set by in code by the Idaho legislature,” he told the committee, explaining the bifurcated per‑diem structure that provides different daily rates for stays of seven days or less and for longer stays. The structure was intended to encourage timely state pickup of people held in county jails, he said.
Analysts presented historical per‑diem dollar rates in the budget materials: county per‑diems reported in the packet were $57.50 for days 1–7 and $77.50 for days 8+, with an out‑of‑state per‑diem cited at $84.45. Peterson said those per‑diems themselves had not changed since original FY2025 projections; the requested increases are driven mainly by population and higher utilization of contracted medical services.
The governor recommended the agency’s supplemental requests, and analysts told the committee they would continue to monitor contract negotiations and utilization patterns during the budget process.
