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Board approves two‑year extension of jail medical contract; amendment includes CalAIM Justice Initiative staffing updates
Summary
The Board authorized Amendment 3 to the county's inmate medical services contract with California Forensic Medical Group (CFMG/Wellpath), extending the agreement two years to allow implementation of CalAIM Justice Initiative billing and continuity while preparing a future RFP.
Nevada County supervisors voted unanimously Sept. 23 to approve Amendment 3 to the county’s inmate medical services contract with California Forensic Medical Group (CFMG, operating as Wellpath), extending the contract for two years to allow implementation of state CalAIM Justice Initiative requirements and Medi‑Cal billing preparations prior to issuing a future request for proposals.
Chief Fiscal Administrative Officer Georgette Aronneau and CFMG/Wellpath representatives presented the amendment. Aronneau said Nevada County is required under Title 15 of the California Code of Regulations to provide physical, mental and dental health care to incarcerated persons and has contracted with CFMG since 1992. The most recent RFP (February 2019) yielded CFMG as the only responder and the current engagement includes options to renew. Amendment 3 includes a 3.3% cost escalator for the current year and additional staffing costs tied to the county’s Medication‑Assisted Treatment (MAT) program; the amendment increases the current fiscal year authorized amount and provides an estimated budget for the following year based on the contract CPI cap.
Aronneau said the county will seek a third‑party billing administrator to process Medi‑Cal claims related to the CalAIM Justice Initiative and that the county aims to go live on CalAIM JI in October; she acknowledged the billing rollout will take additional weeks to become fully operational. Sheriff’s Office staff and CFMG noted that county jail health services achieved accreditation from the National Commission on Correctional Health Care in February 2024, which staff said reflects adherence to recognized correctional health standards.
Public comment included one caller who raised concerns about his treatment while detained at the jail. The board voted 5–0 to adopt the amendment.
Quote “The National Commission on Correctional Healthcare is something that we base all of our policies off of and we make sure that we are compliant with everything that they put out,” — Cole Casey, Division President for Wellpath/CFMG.
Next steps County staff said they will bring a contract for a Medi‑Cal billing administrator to the Board, aim to implement CalAIM JI billing in the weeks following the October target, and plan a formal RFP for jail medical services in advance of fiscal year 2027–28.
