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Population increases push Idaho to seek more for county/out‑of‑state beds and medical contract
Summary
Analysts told the committee population changes and higher medical utilization are driving supplemental requests for county jail and out‑of‑state placements and for the inmate medical services contract; the agency warned a contract bid could raise medical costs 30–40 percent if negotiations fail.
Legislative budget staff told the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee that population shifts and higher medical utilization are driving supplemental and ongoing requests in the Department of Correction’s county and out‑of‑state placement and medical services budgets.
Why it matters: County per‑diem and out‑of‑state housing costs are a significant, population‑driven component of the corrections budget. Changes to the medical contract or inmate counts can materially increase expenditures.
Noah Peterson, the committee’s budget analyst, said population changes prompted an FY2025 supplemental and that the department projects an ongoing FY2026 increase of $4,027,900 for county and out‑of‑state placements based on updated population forecasts. For medical services, Peterson said utilization has been higher than originally projected; the department is negotiating a new contract with its current provider and has modeled a successful negotiation as a 10% cost increase, but warned that if the contract goes to bid the department expects a 30–40% increase in medical contract costs.
Per‑diem rates and legislative role: Senator Zieterfeld asked about daily per‑diem rates. Peterson explained the transcript figures used in the department’s analysis: $57.50 per inmate per day for stays of seven days or fewer, $77.50 per day for stays longer than seven days at county facilities, and roughly $84.45 per day for out‑of‑state placements. Director Josh Tewalt told the committee the statutory intent behind the bifurcated county rates is to encourage the state to pick up longer stays from county jails promptly to avoid backlogs; he said the rates themselves are set in Idaho code.
Medical contract negotiations: The department is negotiating with its incumbent medical contractor. Peterson said the FY2026 request assumes the department successfully negotiates with the current vendor (modeled as a 10% increase). If that vendor negotiation fails and the contract is rebid, the department expects a 30–40% increase.
Ending: The committee asked follow‑up questions about rate setting, county billing practices for medical costs and medical‑contract contingencies. The agency committed to provide additional detail to support the supplemental and ongoing projections.
