Mississippi state Rep. Becky Currie has secured a legislative victory in her effort to improve health care for prisoners. She used a procedural maneuver to keep a package of reforms alive after Senate leaders moved to kill them, according to Currie and Senate sources.
Currie, the House Corrections chairwoman, changed the language in a Senate bill concerning prisons and probation, inserting her proposed reforms just before a legislative deadline. The move was prompted by Senate Corrections Committee Vice Chairwoman Lydia Chassaniol, who indicated she planned to block Currie’s bills without a vote, citing the absence of Committee Chairman Juan Barnett, who is out sick.
“I just decided, what do we have to lose? They’ve killed the bills, we’ll force them to have to do it again,” Currie said. “I’m just continuing the fight.”
The proposals follow Mississippi Today’s series, “Behind Bars, Beyond Care,” which documented widespread allegations of medical neglect in Mississippi prisons. The investigation revealed untreated hepatitis C, delayed cancer screenings, and other health issues leading to serious outcomes, including amputations and death.
Among the measures Currie kept alive are bills to establish hepatitis C and HIV treatment programs and to develop a health plan for female prisoners. Another bill would shift the authority to award health contracts from the Department of Corrections to the Department of Finance and Administration, opening the process to more competition. The current contractor, VitalCore Health Strategies, has faced legal challenges and allegations of providing inadequate care, despite receiving over $315 million in state contracts since 2020.
Currie expressed her intention to diversify the contractor selection process after Gov. Tate Reeves leaves office in 2027. She emphasized fairness in awarding contracts, criticizing the previous no-bid process that favored VitalCore.
The bills had previously passed the House with bipartisan support but were halted in Senate committees. Currie also revived a proposal for increased oversight of the Inmate Welfare Fund, which she found to contain about $32 million in a single account, raising questions about how the money has been spent.
Mississippi’s prisons have come under federal scrutiny for poor conditions, with reports of deaths and suffering. The state’s incarceration rate is one of the highest worldwide, with about 19,500 inmates in state facilities, according to the Department of Corrections.
Jon Ross Myers is the executive editor and publisher of the Mississippi News Network, Mississippi's largest digital only media company. He can be reached at editor@tippahnews.com
