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LAS CRUCES 鈥� With a week or even less to find a new healthcare provider for the Do帽a Ana County Detention Center, county commissioners were aghast Tuesday as staff pulled a contract approval from consideration and told commissioners they were back at square one.

YesCare, previously known as Corizon Health, provides medical care services in correctional facilities in nine states, including the county facility in Las Cruces.

This month, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and failed to meet payroll in multiple states, including New Mexico.

After employees in Las Cruces missed their May 8 paychecks, the county stepped in with an emergency approval of $170,000 to cover the workers鈥� back pay. The money came from funds already appropriated for YesCare鈥檚 contract.

Meanwhile, county staff proceeded with an emergency procurement, as YesCare indicated it would discontinue operations at the detention center. The current contract was set to expire on June 30.

鈥淲e had asked them to give us three weeks to get somebody new in, and they could not guarantee that,鈥� Deputy County Attorney Cari Neill said Tuesday.

At Tuesday鈥檚 session, commissioners expected to consider a $4.5 million contract with WellPoint LLC and avoid an interruption to services. But when the agenda item came up, County Purchasing Manager Michael Perez told them the deal was off after their finalized cost proposal came in much higher than expected.

鈥淥n Sunday evening, we received the cost proposal from the entity and it is significantly different than what they anticipated鈥� At this time, we do not want to make an award,鈥� Perez said.

However, there was no backup proposal for commissioners to consider.

鈥淲e have one more week and we don鈥檛 have an emergency procurement contract or confirmation that these (workers) are going to get paid or that services will continue at the detention center?鈥� Commissioner Christopher Schaljo-Hernandez asked, and Perez confirmed that that was the case.

Adding confusion to the process was that WellPath and other providers interviewed wanted a full-year contract, Perez said, which can鈥檛 be done through the emergency procurement process. The county鈥檚 preferred approach was to cover the emergency and put a regular contract, which would begin next January, out for a conventional bid.

Perez and Neill recommended the commissioners authorize the county manager鈥檚 office to enact a stopgap agreement with one of the other vendors interviewed and get the commissioners鈥� approval at a subsequent meeting, but no commissioner made a motion.

鈥淚 feel like we are woefully unprepared bringing this forward,鈥� County Chairman Manny Sanchez said. 鈥淲e need to have a path forward, guys, and we just don鈥檛 have that.鈥�

Further questions from Schaljo-Hernandez and Commissioner Susie Kimble revealed that the county had not yet notified the state health or corrections departments about the situation. 

鈥淚t appears we haven鈥檛,鈥� County Manager Scott Andrews said. 鈥淲e鈥檒l jump right on it.鈥�

That added a new layer of uncertainty to the situation, as Schaljo-Hernandez pointed out when he said, 鈥淭he county can continue to do the back pay for YesCare 鈥� but if their license to operate at the detention center is revoked or no good, then that鈥檚 not going to help us.鈥�

鈥淭hey are still licensed at this point,鈥� Neill replied.

Wednesday, the county manager鈥檚 office said it planned to bring a finalized proposal to the board as quickly as possible.

鈥淲e remain committed to ensuring our inmates at the Detention Center can receive adequate healthcare services while at the facility,鈥� the county said in a statement to the Journal.

Algernon 顿鈥橝尘尘补蝉蝉补 is the Journal鈥檚 southern New Mexico correspondent. He can be reached at adammassa@abqjournal.com.