Kansas corrections officials outline budget increases after renegotiated health contract; department warns capacity may be exceeded by 2028

Kansas Department of Corrections officials told the Legislative Budget Committee on an administration budget hearing that they negotiated a higher-cost health-care contract and are seeking multiple budget increases to cover medical and facility needs.

The increases stem in part from a renegotiated contract with Centurion, the department’s medical vendor, and from agency enhancement requests for deferred repairs, new construction and program funding. Keith Bradshaw, executive director of contracts and finance, said the contract extension has allowed the vendor to hire staff and that the department negotiated added performance guarantees. “Our Centurion has been able to hire 18 new behavioral health professionals,” Bradshaw said, adding that the department has also hired a psychiatrist and a PhD-level psychologist for El Dorado.

Bradshaw and fiscal staff said the net effect of the Centurion contract change and other items raises the KDOC health-care budget roughly 5.8 percent in the current fiscal year and about 5.7 percent in FY 2026. The department carved out pharmacy services from the vendor contract to capture additional savings…