Happy Thanksgiving! Florida Gov. McFraudy outsources public prison jobs to for-profit corporation

[Tommy_Carcetti]

http://www.theledger.com/article/20121118/NEWS/121119360/1374?Title=Florida-Prison-Health-Care-System-to-Cut-1-890-Jobs

Florida Prison Health Care System to Cut 1,890 Jobs

By STEVE BOUSQUET
Tampa Bay Times


TALLAHASSEE | Nearly 2,000 state workers are being displaced from Gov. Rick Scott's administration because of the nation's biggest outsourcing of prison health care.

"Due to the outsourcing of this function, your position will be deleted," reads a dryly worded dismissal notice from the Department of Corrections, sent to 1,890 state employees in the past two weeks.

The Department of Corrections signed a $230 million contract with Corizon Healthcare of Nashville to provide all health care in Central and North Florida prisons and is negotiating contract terms with Wexford Health Sources of Pittsburgh to take over health care in nine South Florida prisons for $48 million a year.

In the dismissal letters, prison officials emphasize that dismissed workers will get first consideration for new jobs at one of the two for-profit vendors, though with fewer benefits. The workers also expect to pay more out of pocket for their own health insurance.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

This year Florida went for Obama, voted Alan Grayson back to Congress, displaced the next-in-line speaker of the Florida house, and most deservedly kicked Allen West to the curb. But there is still work to be done. Rick Scott needs to go!