Privatizing prison healthcare remains stalled amid court fight

Change never comes easily to Florida's prison system. It has been more than a year since the Legislature ordered the agency to privatize inmate healthcare to save money, the largest project of its kind ever attempted in the U.S. After months of bureaucratic red tape, Corrections Secretary Ken Tucker approved hiring two for-profit companies to provide healthcare for the next five years. The first-year cost: $359 million. Corizon Health would treat inmates in north and central Florida; Wexford Health Sources would manage inmate medical care in South Florida. Firms can't start work until the action is ratified by a panel of legislators, which has no meetings scheduled.