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Adams County awards $13.49M-a-year inmate health contract to CoreHealth after Wellpath shortfalls
Summary
Following problems with the prior vendor, the county approved a two-year agreement with CoreHealth for comprehensive inmate medical, mental health and MAT services at the Adams County Detention Facility at $13,492,008.45 annually. The contract increases required staff levels and reflects higher liability and inflation-driven costs.
The Adams County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved a two-year agreement on Jan. 7 with CoreHealth for comprehensive inmate medical, mental-health and medication-assisted treatment (MAT) services at the Adams County Detention Facility, at $13,492,008.45 per year.
Sheriff Gene Claps summarized the county's procurement timeline and the reasons for the vendor change. "This contract is an amount of $13,492,008.45 annually and that's a 2 year contract," Claps said, describing a process that began after contract deficiencies were identified under the previous vendor, Wellpath. Claps said the county issued a notice to cure to Wellpath in April 2024 after identifying shortfalls in service levels and reductions in required full-time-equivalent staffing.
Claps told the board the county's RFP process drew multiple proposals and that CoreHealth's proposed staffing levels address identified shortfalls: the new contract requires 67.1 FTEs compared with 55.9 FTEs under the prior contract, an increase of 11.2 FTEs. Claps also said an increase in required liability insurance for subcontractors and inflation contributed to higher contract pricing.
Commissioner O'Dorisio (recorded in the meeting as O'Dorisio/Odricio) said he was "genuinely... concerned about the overall privatization of the criminal justice system" but joined colleagues in supporting the new vendor while emphasizing continued county oversight of the contract. Other commissioners thanked sheriff's office staff for monitoring the prior contract and said they would hold the new vendor accountable.
County staff and the sheriff said the planned transition date to the new contractor is currently scheduled for March, subject to operational readiness. The motion to approve the agreement passed on a unanimous roll call.
Background and fiscal detail: Sheriff Claps said the county's earlier contract with Wellpath began in 2022 and rose in cost in subsequent years; staff provided a comparative figure that the Wellpath contract would have totaled about $11,577,499 under some added services, leaving a difference of about $1.9 million relative to current pricing drivers. The RFP reportedly generated six responses; staff described the procurement as competitive.
