Members,
The State has announced that they will investigate the use of private contractors for medical and mental health services in its prisons and hospitals. The audit was requested by Assemblymember Josh Lowenthal, who cited concerns about high costs and staffing shortages.
For years, the UAPD has stated that outsourcing healthcare services to private contractors costs up to 3x more than employing state workers. This audit will finally examine this claim and we believe it will reveal the true (high) cost of outsourcing healthcare services. Meanwhile, vacancy rates continue to surge as high as 80% to 90% in some state facilities due to their reliance on private contractors.
Your Union is pleased to hear this audit is taking place. We are confident the findings will expose wasteful spending and urge the State to take fiscal responsibility. It’s time to put an end to the hiring of expensive private contractors. Instead, the State should focus its resources on filling the high vacancy rates at our facilities with full-time state employees. This will ensure better care for the State’s incarcerated population and a more stable workforce.
More details concerning the audit can be seen here.