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IDOC projects higher county and out‑of‑state per diems and medical costs; contract negotiations could raise rates
Summary
Analysts told the Joint Finance Preparations Committee that county jail per diems and out‑of‑state placement costs have risen because of population changes and medical utilization; a new medical contract could add 10% if renegotiated with the current contractor or 30–40% if rebid, the agency said.
The Idaho Department of Correction and Legislative Services Office analysts told the Joint Finance Preparations Committee on Feb. 4 that population changes and medical utilization are driving supplemental requests in the county and out‑of‑state placement and medical services budgets.
Analyst Noah Peterson said per‑diem totals for county housing and out‑of‑state placements are sensitive to how long people are housed locally: for county stays, the analyst reported a statutory bifurcated per‑diem (days 1–7 and days 8+) intended to encourage timely state pickup. The agency requested population‑driven supplemental funding to reconcile original projections with updated FY2025 population expectations; the county and out‑of‑state supplemental requests were $2.958 million in one year and $1.9237 million for FY2025 adjustments in another LBB line, with ongoing FY2026 impacts estimated at $4,027,900 for population adjustments.
Medical services utilization also exceeded earlier projections. The department is negotiating a new medical contract with its current provider; agency materials project a 10% increase to the cost if negotiations succeed, but a 30–40% increase if the contract is rebid and awarded to a new vendor. The LBB materials show an FY2026 medical services adjustment request under the assumption of a successful negotiation of approximately $5,957,200 to cover utilization and population changes.
Analysts emphasized that daily per‑diem rates used in projections did not change from earlier estimates; the cost growth arises mainly from population and utilization updates. The governor recommended the supplemental and ongoing adjustments as presented by the agency.
Committee members asked for details on how county per‑diems are set; Director Tewalt clarified that the per‑diem rates are set in Idaho Code and were designed to incentivize state pickup of county jail inmates to avoid county backlogs.
Funding decisions will proceed through the committee’s FY2026 budget process.
