The Board of Public Works in Maryland approved a $724 million contract with Centurion of Maryland for pretrial detention medical and mental health services, overriding objections and ongoing appeals from the incumbent contractor, YesCare. The decision to award the contract, despite appeals pending before the Maryland State Board of Contract Appeals, was driven by the need to address immediate healthcare requirements in state correctional facilities.
Comptroller Brooke Lierman, Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller, and Treasurer Dereck Davis voted in favor of the new contract, emphasizing the importance of not allowing the state to be manipulated by frivolous appeals. YesCare, which previously operated under the name Corizon, has faced criticism for poor service quality, unpaid bills, and inadequate staffing. The company has been embroiled in ongoing bankruptcy proceedings and had filed two protests against the new contract awards, both of which were denied by the corrections department and subsequently appealed.
Joseph W. Sedtal, Deputy Secretary of Administration for the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, defended the new contract with Centurion as the best value for the state, despite its higher cost compared to YesCare’s bid. He stressed the critical need for uninterrupted medical and mental health care services for those in state custody.
The Board’s decision follows a pattern of addressing longstanding concerns about the quality of healthcare in Maryland’s correctional facilities, and it comes after a previous $125 million extension with YesCare as the state sought new bids. Centurion of Maryland now holds contracts worth nearly $2.5 billion for providing healthcare services to Maryland’s pretrial and prison populations.