Scott to privatize prison health services -- but will it save money?

Scary-looking Gov Gone Wild.

PolitiFact, the website that tracks politicians' truth-telling, takes a look at a promise made by Florida Gov. Rick Scott (aka "Skeletor," "Voldemort," "Pink Slip Rick"). The website gives Scott a "promises kept" rating on his claim that he would use competitive bids on health care contracts in prisons.

Whether privatizing prison health care will actually save money is quite another matter. PolitiFact points out that Florida's record isn't a good one.

First, here's the plan:

Budget language requires the Department of Corrections to issue requests for proposals to private companies to provide health care services for all public prison facilities in three of the state's four prison "regions." The fourth region -- in South Florida -- is being required to go one step further and privatize all of its facilities, including health care services.

The northernmost counties included in the fourth region include Manatee, Hardee, Highlands, Okeechobee, and Indian River. Prisons to the north of those counties will remain publicly run with outsourced health care services. The rest, from those counties south, are slated to become privately run.

The private health care contracts are required to take effect between July 1, 2011, and June 30, 2012...

In 2000, Florida tried to privatize prison health care services.

Initially, the state experienced staffing shortfalls before it could execute a contract with a private vendor. State prison health care workers either transferred to facilities where they could keep their positions as state workers, or left altogether because their government jobs were being eliminated.

Then, a deal was signed with Wexford Health Sources. It didn't go so well.

According to the Senate analysis, "there did not appear to be a system of internal controls," and there were "poor or nonexistent tracking mechanisms," and "unacceptable pharmacy systems." By 2003, the state Correctional Medical Authority -- which was set up to monitor health services provided to inmates -- encouraged the Department of Corrections to try to terminate the contract with Wexford for non-performance.

Then Wexford wanted more money (we hope no one was surprised by that). The state got out of the contract and tried again. No luck that time, either.

We're skeptical that Scott, who has a long record of plundering taxpayers, will save any money at all with his prison privatization plan. It's just a well-established way for corporations to loot state governments.

We hope we're wrong. But we don't think so.