Health Services Savings

Through a series of cost-cutting measures, the Florida Department of Corrections’ Office of Health Services (OHS) reduced its 2008-2009 expenditures by $24 million from the previous fiscal year while improving the quality of its inmate health care, even as healthcare costs increased nationwide. Contracted specialty physician appointment waiting times were substantially reduced, and clinical care improved statewide. The savings are attributed to a number of successful cost-cutting efforts by the DC’s Office of Health Services, including:

• a more-efficient utilization management nursing program;
• replacing expensive temporary contracted staff with full-time state employees;
• enacting legislation limiting non-contracted hospital and physician charges to 110% of Medicare rates (a cost avoidance of $17 million);
• expanding secure private hospital bed capacity, which costs less and is safer than having inmates monitored by officers at multiple hospitals;
• revising pharmaceutical purchasing and dispensing practices;
• de-privatizing dental services; and
• renegotiating many contracts with health care providers at reduce payment rates.

The Office of Health Services also established an agreement with Nova University Dental School to perform oral surgery and complicated dental procedures for inmates at greatly reduced rates (100% of Medicare). This will allow inmates to remain in South Florida rather than transporting them to North Florida, saving on travel and staff expenses and averting security concerns.