Receiver: New Inmate Plan Doesn't Change Medical Needs

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- The court-appointed receiver who oversees medical care in California's prison system says the state still needs thousands of new prison hospital beds even as Gov. Jerry Brown proposes transferring responsibility for tens of thousands of convicts to local governments.

In a report released Tuesday, the receiver's office says most seriously ill inmates would remain in state custody. That means the state still needs to build a $906 million medical center in Stockton, along with other facilities.

Poor inmate health care led the U.S. Supreme Court last month to uphold a federal court decision ordering California to reduce its prison population by about 33,000 inmates.

Brown's realignment plan is designed to save money and respond to the federal courts, although it will not be implemented without the money to fund it.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)