A lawmaker has proposed ending Arizona’s practice of hiring private companies to provide health care for its 34,000 prison inmates.
Democratic Rep. Diego Rodriguez said his bill to end privatized health services at state-run prisons was inspired by numerous accounts of inmates with minor ailments later facing serious health problems because the system responded inadequately.
Republican Rep. John Kavanagh, who opposes the bill, said ending privatization would lead to higher pension costs.
The proposal faces an uphill climb at the Legislature. It comes two months after a court-appointed expert in a lawsuit challenging the quality of health care for inmates recommended ending privatization.
