Contractor Seeks Withheld Pay From Prison Receiver
A Florida-based medical contractor has filed a claim against the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and California's prison medical receiver Robert Sillen for $3.6 million in back pay, the Sacramento Bee reports (Furillo, Sacramento Bee, 8/8).
Sillen in April ordered two correctional facilities to terminate a business agreement with Medical Development International in response to a court motion that accused the receiver of refusing to pay the company from September 2006 to April (California Healthline, 4/11).
The motion failed in federal court, prompting MDI to file a claim with the California Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board. The action is a precursor to a lawsuit in state court.
MDI was hired by the state to provide transportation, scheduling and other specialty services at two correctional facilities. The company says it helped reduce backlogs for specialty treatment and cut state costs by reducing the length of stays at private hospitals.
However, Sillen said that he never had approved MDI's contract with the state and that the company lacked a medical license to practice corporate medicine.
MDI in its claim said that despite Sillen's allegations, the receiver demanded that the company continue its job duties but failed to provide compensation.
None of the involved parties -- MDI, DCR or Sillen's office -- would comment on the claim (Sacramento Bee, 8/8).