Maryland officials ran out of time to pick a new contractor to provide medical care in state prisons, so they’re extending the current contract with a troubled, for-profit company.

For the next three months, YesCare will continue to provide medical care to people who are incarcerated in prisons across the state and a jail complex in Baltimore.

YesCare was created out of the controversial bankruptcy of Corizon Health, which was awarded the medical care contract with the state five years ago.

The company has been paid hundreds of millions of dollars, even as the quality of its care has come under scrutiny from an independent monitor and dozens of medical malpractice lawsuits have been filed in Maryland and other states.

The Baltimore Banner thanks its sponsors. Become one.

YesCare’s contract is due to end on Sunday, but the state did not start the process of soliciting bidders for a new contract until late in the year. Bids from interested companies were due earlier this week.

With the bids under review, the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services extended the contract with YesCare for three more months.

Mark Vernarelli, a department spokesman, said the state hadn’t yet spent all the money that was set aside for the contract, so that money — $48.7 million — will be used on the extension.

The contract was slated to cost the state $680 million over the five-year period but was modified over the years up to a maximum of about $715 million.

The state also enacted a three-month contract extension for a company that provides mental health care to incarcerated people, Centurion Health. The state’s use of Centurion’s services “has been less than the originally estimated amounts,” so $15.5 million is still available to send to Centurion, according to the extension.

Going forward, the state plans to reorganize its contracts, seeking a provider that can provide both medical care and mental health care to people in custody. There will be two separate contracts: One for state prisons and one for a state-run jail and pre-release complex in Baltimore.

Pamela Wood

pamela.wood@thebaltimorebanner.com

Pamela Wood

Pamela Wood covers Maryland politics and government. She previously reported for The Baltimore Sun, The Capital and other Maryland newspapers. A graduate of the University of Maryland, College Park, she lives in northern Anne Arundel County.

More from Pamela Wood

3 City Council races still undecided as Baltimore officials resume vote counting

Who got to watch Preakness in the state government tent?

More From The Banner

Maryland hospitals took money from poor patients. Why haven’t they paid them back?

Joanna Meade reads aloud love letters from the 1920's in the sun room of her home on February 27, 2024. The letters were found inside of a wall during a renovation.

Secret in the walls: Hidden letters reveal love, lust, scandal in 1920s Baltimore society

Illustration shows black geometric fragments falling from the sky, partially obscuring the faint outline of Key Bridge central span. In the background a sunrise starts to illuminate the darkness.

Grieving my brother and the Key Bridge

Sheila Dixon, a ‘filthy’ street and residents who want politicians to put up or shut up