County renews contract for inmate healthcare

After negotiating with company officials, Grady County Administrator Carlos Tobar last Tuesday night recommended the county commission renew its contract with Innovative Healthcare Solutions to provide inmate health care at the Grady County Detention Center.
“We’ve learned a lot about the process, and we have changed our procedures and they have changed theirs, too,” Tobar told commissioners.
Innovative Healthcare’s nurse stationed at the jail will have access to the website of the county’s insurance provider and will be able to prevent inmates who have been released from custody from racking up medical bills the county would be responsible for, according to the county administrator.
Tobar also said that some of the additional expense for inmate healthcare incurred during 2013 over and above the contract with Innovative Healthcare is for medical treatment for city of Cairo inmates. The county administrator said the county is preparing to bill the city for those expenses.
“It should be a pretty thing if done properly,” Vice Chairman T.D. David commented on the new contract.
David expressed his concern about renewing the agreement before the county is reimbursed from the city and others for approximately $125,000 spent over and above the contract with Innovative Healthcare.
According to Tobar, he anticipates collecting all but about $10,000 of that total.
Last month, the county administrator was considering recommending canceling the Innovative Healthcare contract, but after negotiating with company officials he now says he is comfortable renewing the contract for 2014.
Under the contract, a nurse is in the jail five days per week from 8 a.m. until noon and is available on call for after hour needs. The county pays $129,804 to Innovative Healthcare Solutions annually for that service.