ST. LUCIE COUNTY — A new state law that caps the amount St. Lucie County pays when jail inmates receive medical care at outside hospitals could become a model for other counties across the state, county commissioners said this week.

The law — shepherded through the Legislature by state Rep. Dana Trabulsy, R-Fort Pierce, and signed last month by Gov. Ron DeSantis — sets the cap on those costs at 110% of what Medicare allows, with some exceptions where costs may reach 125%. Those rates are similar to what state prisons already pay.

“This bill stands to be one of the most significant pieces of legislation in St. Lucie County’s history,” St. Lucie County Government Relations Director Courtney Calderone said in an interview Tuesday.

High costs for inmate care

Counties are legally required to provide adequate medical care for inmates in their jails.

“The counties are responsible by state law, but then there’s no cap on what the outside providers can charge,” Calderone said. “As you can imagine, you have some medical providers that are not willing to negotiate, and there’s really no leverage to get them to the table because they know that we are statutorily obligated to pay the costs of the inmate medical care.”

This can lead to extremely high costs, compared to what the general public often is charged for the same care, Calderone said. Despite more than a decade of attempted negotiations with medical providers, Calderone said, St. Lucie has been paying on average about 9,000% of what Medicare allows, and at times that reaches more than 27,000%.

Efforts to address issue statewide failed over years

A similar issue with the Florida Department of Corrections and its state prisons was addressed in 2008 and 2009, when the state enacted a cap on what it would pay for outside medical care. That cap, 110% of the Medicare rate for most procedures, remains in place for state prisoners, but not for inmates in county jails. That is despite more than a decade of efforts from some legislators, including then-Rep. Erin Grall, R-Vero Beach, to address county inmate outside medical costs on a statewide level, Calderone said.

This year, instead of trying to pass a statewide fix, Trabulsy filed a local bill to put in place a cap just in St. Lucie County. Grall, now a senator, helped move the bill through the Senate.

Potential model for other counties

At a County Commission meeting Tuesday, commissioners recognized Trabulsy for her work, alongside Calderone and other county staff, to get the bill passed.

As a local law, the cap applies only to St. Lucie County. It took effect May 16, immediately after DeSantis signed the legislation.

Commissioners said they could see this cap model spreading from St. Lucie County to every county in the state.

“Rep. Trabulsy, thank you for doing this. I think you’re going to be well well known throughout the state of Florida because of this because you’re going to carry this forward to all 67 counties,” Commission Chair Cathy Townsend said.

Money saved can be more responsibly used elsewhere

The efforts to address this issue over the years have been a team effort, Trabulsy said, and St. Lucie County residents will be the beneficiaries.

“The money that we save through the inmate billing is going to be able to be redirected in a much more responsible way,” Trabulsy said.

New medical provider in the jail

Also Tuesday, commissioners approved a new contract with Alabama-based NaphCare to provide medical services to inmates within the jail. That came after commissioners voted in March to terminate the county’s contract with Tennessee-based WellPath.

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County Attorney Daniel McIntyre, however, cautioned that the county is still negotiating details with the company. Part of those negotiations include attempts to lessen the number of inmates who require outside treatment at hospitals and emergency rooms.

In order to begin on the proposed start date of July 29, McIntyre said, NaphCare will need to begin hiring, which is why he asked commissioners for the preliminary approval vote before terms are finalized. It passed unanimously.

Wicker Perlis is TCPalm’s Watchdog Reporter for St. Lucie County. You can reach him at wicker.perlis@tcpalm.com and 504-331-0516.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Will St. Lucie County lead the way on reducing inmate medical costs?