State Representative Brent Yonts says he will hold public hearings this summer on health care in Kentucky’s prisons. The Greenville Democrat chairs the House State Government Committee. His pledge comes four months after a prisoner at the State Penitentiary in Eddyville starved to death.
The Kentucky Department of Corrections contracts with a private company for medical services at the facility. Yonts says there always seems to be a problem when government services are privatized.
Yonts adds that’s a problem that deserves more attention. He says when the cost of services rises after a contract has been awarded, there’s pressure to cut spending.
A Corrections Department investigation following the death of James Embry found that he had refused 35 of 36 meals and his request for anti-anxiety medication was denied.
