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Sheriff and commissioners defer action on combining inmate medical services and blood‑draw fees, ask for clearer contract safeguards
Summary
Sheriff Pat West updated commissioners on talks with the city and ambulance service about folding inmate medical services and on‑call blood draws into a single contract; commissioners asked for contract language that preserves court‑ordered cost recovery and a per‑draw reimbursement cap, and deferred final approval to a subsequent meeting.
Meade County Sheriff Pat West briefed the commission Dec. 10 on negotiations to consolidate inmate medical services and blood‑draw coverage provided by ambulance personnel into a single contract. The proposal would combine the previously discussed inmate medical services payment (about $135,000 in earlier negotiations) with an annualized estimate of roughly $27,000 for blood draws.
Sheriff West said the city has instructed ambulance personnel not to bill when they are on duty for blood draws, which shifted costs to the county in recent months. He proposed folding blood‑draw coverage into the inmate services contract to provide a single agreement and predictable funding.
The State's Attorney’s office and other commissioners raised three concerns: (1) a lump‑sum payment may prevent the county from pursuing per‑incident reimbursement from defendants as part of court judgments; (2) the flow and availability of draws matters for DUI prosecutions and public safety; and (3) the annualized estimate can vary year to year, so the county should preserve a per‑draw reimbursement mechanism or a not‑to‑exceed cap. Commissioners discussed contract language options, including reimbursing at a fixed per‑draw rate (suggested $60) subject to an annual cap.
The commission asked Sheriff West and county counsel to return a single, rewritten contract that includes contract safeguards (per‑draw pricing or cap, reporting cadence, and provisions to maintain opportunity for court‑ordered cost recovery) for the next meeting. No final contract was approved Dec. 10.
Next steps: Sheriff’s office and county legal staff to draft a combined contract with explicit per‑draw reimbursement language and a not‑to‑exceed annual cap and present it for board approval at a future meeting.
