The medical care of the nearly 30,000 people locked up in Illinois state prisons is in limbo, after the Illinois Department of Corrections announced negotiations with its chosen health care provider hit an impasse.
In 2023, IDOC awarded a new $4 billion contract to Wexford Health Sources. The move drew outcry from attorneys who represent incarcerated people because the private company has a track record of substandard care and preventable deaths.
Now, in recent memos sent to correctional staff and people in custody, IDOC says negotiations over that contract have stalled. The state revoked its selection of Wexford and inked a short-term emergency contract with another provider, Centurion Health, to run the department’s troubled health care system.
“They need more people, they need better people, they need better supervision, they need better organization, and they need it fast,” said Harold Hirshman, a lawyer who has represented incarcerated people in two lawsuits over physical and mental health care in Illinois prisons.
The Illinois Department of Corrections did not answer WBEZ’s inquiry about what the sticking points were in its negotiations with Wexford. Instead, a spokesperson pointed to the emergency purchase statement which says “the contract would not provide for consideration of all factors of significance to the State.”
The company’s shortcomings are well-documented and were known to IDOC when the agency once again chose Wexford as its vendor in 2023. A court-appointed monitor has found medical staff shortages and improper care leading to suffering and loss of life. A review of 107 deaths, filed in federal court in 2024 but sent to the state earlier, identified nearly 900 issues with how cases were handled — including multiple patients found to be malnourished after their deaths.
Wexford Health Sources did not respond to WBEZ’s request for comment.
But Centurion Health has also faced criticism of the care it has provided to incarcerated people. Centurion did not respond to WBEZ’s questions about its history in other states, or what its plans are for Illinois.
Jenny Vollen-Katz, the executive director of the independent prison monitor the John Howard Association, said there’s hope the Centurion contract could represent a slight improvement.
“There’s reason to believe that, at least, the Illinois Department of Corrections thinks they can secure a more beneficial contract with Centurion, than … with Wexford,” she said.
But Vollen-Katz also thinks it’s concerning for any private company to be responsible for the health care of people in custody.
“If your goal is to make money doing this, then you’re sort of incentivized not to provide as much care or not to have as many tests conducted,” she said. “So there is this sort of inherent problem with a for-profit medical vendor providing care to people who are in prison.”
Vollen-Katz said the John Howard Association will be watching the transition between the two providers. In the memos announcing the change on June 23, IDOC Director Latoya Hughes writes that the department is “actively working to minimize disruptions,” and that it has created a Transition Oversight Committee.
“IDOC is committed to a smooth and efficient transition that upholds the delivery of high-quality medical, mental health, pharmaceutical, and dental services,” the memos say.
Furthermore, the department’s emergency purchase statement says Centurion was chosen due to its past “successful transitions in large state systems,” like the Florida and Georgia Departments of Corrections.
“Whether they have the management skills to turn the situation around with what we consider to be the inadequate number of staff — I think they’d have to be Houdini, frankly, to pull that off,” said Hirshman.
Hirshman said he doesn’t want the health problems of incarcerated people to fall through the cracks during this transition. And going forward, he would like to see Illinois’ top leadership take an active role in improving the system of care for the state’s prison population.
“I just hope the governor pays attention,” said Hirshman, “and, you know, knows that this is an opportunity to do something different, do something better, do something imaginative, which could be a beacon for other states.”