DeLaney expresses concern over medical crisis mismanagement in Department of Correction
Yesterday, July 20, IndyStar published an investigation revealing several critical flaws related to healthcare practices within Miami Correctional Facility. State Rep. Ed DeLaney (D-Indianapolis) is calling on the Indiana Department of Correction (IDOC) to accelerate the termination of its contract with Centurion Health, the state's for-profit prison medical provider, in response to the findings.
The Star investigation found that after Gov. Mike Braun agreed to house up to 1,000 ICE detainees at the Miami facility, Centurion did not hire adequate staff to handle the influx. Internal company emails obtained by IndyStar showed nursing staff reporting medical backlogs in the hundreds while Centurion reported far lower numbers to the state. Such a discrepancy could allow the company to avoid tens of thousands of dollars in contractual fines.
Two detainees, Lorth Sim and Tuan Van Bui, died in the months following the facility's expansion. Nurses and fellow detainees say both deaths could have been prevented with adequate care.
Centurion has held Indiana's correctional health care contract since 2021, when it was awarded the deal despite submitting the most expensive vendor bid. That contract, extended annually and now worth more than $1 billion over five years, has continued even as the company has faced similar allegations of substandard care and falsified records in other states.
DeLaney released the following statement:
"IDOC's relationship with Centurion has been troubled for years. Instead of ending it, the state extended this company's contract while looking for a replacement. As long as IDOC keeps partnering with Centurion, problems will persist. Indiana has adequate funds to find a new provider for our correctional facilities. It won't be easy, but we need to get there as fast as possible to stop the unfair treatment of incarcerated Hoosiers and ICE detainees.
"I also want to know why the federal government is so slow to reimburse the state for this ICE detention program. We also need to know why IDOC hasn't been given the resources it needs to manage our usual prison population, plus the influx it agreed to take on. Hoosiers deserve an answer.
"The unexplained resignation of Warden Brian English only adds to my concern. I have met him several times and was favorably impressed. Neither he nor IDOC has said why he left. That kind of silence doesn't inspire confidence.
"Until these issues are resolved, I don't see how we can expect meaningful improvement in correctional healthcare. It speaks volumes that this administration is prioritizing hot-button political issues like dismantling protections for minority- and women-owned businesses while a billion-dollar contractor tied to two deaths in state custody gets another year on the job."