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Population-driven county and out-of-state housing costs drive medical contract request
Summary
Idaho corrections asked for supplemental funds tied to higher-than-projected county and out-of-state housing and medical costs and warned that a medical-contract rebid could raise costs by 30%–40% if negotiations fail.
The Idaho Department of Correction told lawmakers Feb. 4 that population changes and higher-than-expected medical utilization during FY2025 produced supplemental needs for county and out-of-state housing and prison medical services.
Legislative analyst Noah Peterson said the agency requested population-driven adjustments for county and out-of-state placement per diems and an adjustment tied to medical services utilization. Peterson summarized a FY2025 per-diem supplemental to reconcile the agencyoriginal projections with updated population estimates and noted the FY2026 ongoing impact: a $4,027,900 ongoing increase to reflect updated population projections and the ongoing medical contract change.
Peterson said the medical-services per-diem request assumes successful negotiations with the current contractor and estimated a 10% contract increase under that outcome; if negotiations fail and the contract is reissued to bid, the agency estimated a 30% to 40% increase. Peterson presented a supplemental request figure of about $5,957,200 to cover higher-than-expected FY2025 medical costs and noted that much of the FY2025 per-diem increase reflects population shifts rather than changes to the per-diem rates themselves.
Senator Zetterfeld asked how county per-diem rates are set. Director Josh Tewalt said the rates are established in state law; the department noted a bifurcated county rate intended to encourage timely state pickup of individuals held at county jails. Peterson said county per-diem utilization shifted between short-term (1through7 days) and longer-term stays in the period covered, driving observed changes in average county per-diem costs.
The governor recommended the supplemental and the ongoing adjustments as presented. The committee discussed the agency's updated projections and asked for supporting documentation to validate population and utilization assumptions before marking a final FY2026 budget position.
