From Bad to Worse

Quick link here to a story about how Florida is moving ahead with plans to privatize healthcare for all its prisoners. After republicans tried unsuccessfully, three times, to privatize half the state's prison system, they were determined to at least give a bit of a taxpayer-funded handout to private companies.  The state has received proposals from two companies, which would amount to a total of $359 million in fees for healthcare services.  The state currently pays about $400 million for healthcare for its prisoners, which isn't exactly what you'd get at Beth Israel, and it's looking to make it even harder for its prisoners to receive adequate medical treatment.  Somehow, this passed as proviso language in the budget, basically the same maneuver that sent the wholesale prison privatization offtrack.