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Kentucky Department of Corrections
January 22, 2011 Herald-Leader
The state has appointed an acting medical director for Kentucky prisons who
will continue to work for and be paid by the private company that provides
the state prison system's health care. Dr. Ron Everson was named by the
state to coordinate and oversee the work of CorrectCare
Integrated Health, the company where he is regional medical director for
four Eastern Kentucky prison facilities. CorrectCare
provides medical care for Kentucky prisons. It works for the University of
Kentucky in a public-private partnership that essentially provides
prisoners with an HMO for medical care. The university has a two-year, $104
million contract with the Department of Corrections. In his state role, Everson
checks credentials and supervises medical providers and nurse
administrators for Kentucky's Department of Corrections. He is also in
charge of quality assurance, said corrections spokeswoman Lisa Lamb. Lamb
said there is no conflict in Everson serving in both roles. CorrectCare is paying Everson's salary and the state is
providing no additional compensation to him, she said. Linda Goins, president of CorrectCare,
which is based in Lexington, referred questions about Everson back to the
state. Richard Beliles, the chairman of the
watchdog group Common Cause Kentucky, said Thursday that such an
arrangement is not good government. "It would not be good if a lot of
private companies could suddenly just be paying the salaries of state
officials," said Beliles. "It's a push
for privatization, which is probably not in the general best interest of
the public." The agreement between UK and the state does not prohibit
a CorrectCare physician from serving as acting
medical director during the absence of the state corrections department's
medical director, Lamb said. The corrections department sought the advice
of the Justice Cabinet, whose staff then contacted the state Personnel
Cabinet's General Counsel's office, Lamb said. "We were assured there
was no conflict of interest in Dr. Everson filling this role on a temporary
basis," she said.
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