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DOC alerts committee to rising county and medical contract costs tied to population changes
Summary
Legislative analysts said jail and out-of-state per-diem costs and higher-than-expected medical utilization are driving supplemental and ongoing requests; the agency warned contract negotiation outcomes could raise costs substantially if bids are required.
Legislative analysts told the Joint Finance Preparations Committee on Feb. 4 that population changes and higher medical service utilization have driven requested supplemental funding for housings in county jails, out-of-state facilities and contracted medical services.
Noah Peterson, the LSO analyst, said the county and out-of-state placement program and the medical services division are population-driven budgets with no full-time positions; they are funded entirely with operating dollars. For FY2025 the department requested supplemental funds to cover the difference between earlier population projections and updated population estimates. Peterson said the FY2026 ongoing request would annualize those higher population-driven base costs, totaling about $4,027,900 for placements and $5,957,200 for medical services under the assumption IDOC reaches a negotiated contract with its current medical provider.
Risk in procurement: Peterson said if the current medical-provider negotiations fail and the contract is put out to competitive bid, the agency projects a 30%–40% increase in the medical contract cost. The $5.957 million figure assumes successful negotiation (a roughly 10% increase from the prior contract), while higher increases would be possible if the contract must be rebid.
Per-diem rates and statutory setting: Senator Zetterfeld asked how county per-diem rates are set. Director Josh Tewalt told the committee those rates are set in Idaho code; Peterson offered to return with precise statutory citations. Peterson and Tewalt emphasized that changes in how many people the state houses in county jails and out-of-state facilities — and for how long — drive the bulk of the funding variation, not per-diem rate changes.
Why it matters: The committee was asked to consider supplemental requests to keep operations aligned with actual utilization and to prepare for potential contract-price volatility. No votes were taken at the hearing; analysts recommended watching contract negotiations and population trends closely as the budget moves forward.
