A public employees’ union says it will offer a counter-proposal if the state goes ahead with plans to privatize prison health care.Governor Rick Snyder has ruled out privatizing entire prisons. But corrections officials think there may be savings to be had if the state turns to private companies to provide health care services.
Ray Holman is with UAW Local Six-thousand, which represents many of the corrections employees who would be affected. He says the union will offer its own plan to save taxpayers money by reducing the costs of management and outsourcing.
“We believe we can beat any private company," Holman says. "We can do the job better, more effectively, and we want to be given the opportunity to prove it.”
Holman says the union believes it can deliver the same services at a lower cost than other bidders. Those services include inmate health clinics, psychiatric services and counseling, psychological evaluations for parole candidates, and record-keeping.