Texas Prison Board Hears About Inmate Health Care
AUSTIN (AP) - The Texas prison board is meeting in Austin on Friday, and the sticky topic of inmate health care coverage likely up for discussion.
The Department of Criminal Justice and the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston have been negotiating to extend the school's contract with the prison system through the next fiscal year. UTMB provides health care to about 80 percent of the state's more than 150,000 inmates but insists it's losing money on the deal and won't use school resources to cover the shortfall.
Prison system Executive Director Brad Livingston says the agency is working with the health care provider, lawmakers and the governor's office to ensure inmate health care for 2013 and beyond. However, he says the agency will be prepared if a transition of services is needed.
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