Lawmakers: “A host of federal investigations, press reports, and reports by incarcerated people have revealed apparent deficiencies in Wellpath’s care.”
Wellpath (PDF) l Wellpath MA (PDF)
Washington (December 19, 2023) – Senators Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Laphonza Butler (D-Calif.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Bernie Sanders (D-Vt.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Peter Welch (D-Vt.) sent a letter to Wellpath — the nation’s largest private provider of prison healthcare — raising concern over reports of inadequate care at federal, state, and local prisons and jails. Senators Warren and Markey also sent a similar letter to Wellpath outlining concerns about the company’s operations in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
“Since its creation, Wellpath has been the target of multiple federal investigations and lawsuits, and the company has faced growing public scrutiny,” wrote the lawmakers. “A host of federal investigations, press reports, and reports by incarcerated people have revealed apparent deficiencies in Wellpath’s care.”
Wellpath is a private equity-owned, for-profit company and currently operates as the nation’s largest private provider of healthcare services in prisons and jails. Recent media reporting has revealed alarming inadequacies in care, including reports of: time-sensitive care being delayed; outright denials of care; inadequate staffing; Wellpath staff members’ negligence and failure to follow physician treatment plans and Wellpath’s own policies; and the inappropriate use of restraints and solitary confinement for people with mental health needs.
In the letters, the lawmakers also highlight systemic problems driven by Wellpath’s incentive to maximize its profits, including “minimizing the number of healthcare services provided and opting to provide less resource-intensive services.”
“While some contracts increase Wellpath’s compensation for emergency services such as ambulance runs or decrease compensation for failures such as not triaging sick call requests, pay generally does not increase with the volume, quality, or complexity of medical services provided,” wrote the lawmakers. “Some Wellpath contracts also appear to incentivize the company to reduce the number of transfers to hospitals or to employ fewer staff members.”
In their letter on inadequacies in Massachusetts, Senator Warren and Markey highlighted several instances of concern in Massachusetts prisons, including cancellations of off-site specialist visits recommended by doctors, discontinued medications, and understaffing of facilities.
“Furthermore, Wellpath providers in Massachusetts have inappropriately intervened with individuals who have mental illnesses, including by abusing the use of solitary confinement and defaulting to the use of physical or chemical restraints in response to mental health crises,” wrote the lawmakers. “A 2020 DOJ investigation revealed that, under Wellpath, ‘Massachusetts’ prisons subjected incarcerated people in mental health crisis to prolonged periods of restrictive housing conditions, instead of providing them constitutionally adequate mental health care and supervision.’”
The lawmakers have asked for more information from Wellpath in order to better understand its conduct and operations in jails and prisons and its efforts to provide adequate care to patients.
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