STATE PRISON OFFICIALS should wait until researchers complete a study ordered by lawmakers before negotiating with a private firm to take over prison health care.

Department of Corrections chief Jon Ozmint wants to begin negotiations with the top bidder now and simply wait until the study is finished to sign a deal.

But it would be premature to negotiate a contract ahead of the study. That might suggest officials have decided they are going to privatize no matter what and that they have no interest in potentially helpful information that might come from the report.

Corrections has yet to justify privatizing prison health care. It obviously hasn’t convinced the majority of legislators. If it was the General Assembly’s intent for privatization to move faster, it would have voted to encourage that rather than ask for more information.

Lawmakers passed a proviso ordering a study reviewing current medical services at prisons and identifying what the state could privatize. The Budget and Control Board has asked the University of South Carolina to conduct the study, expected to be completed by October. It is to include a cost-benefit analysis and a determination as to whether privatization is cost-efficient.

Nothing in the proviso prohibits Corrections from negotiating with a bidder. But Mr. Ozmint should tread lightly in trying to fast-track privatization, a practice favored by Gov. Mark Sanford. Being heavy-handed in this matter could cast a negative shadow on one of the governor’s top agenda items — restructuring. Legislators could get nervous about giving the governor more power if they believe he might use it to push through policy decisions without regard for what they think.

It makes sense for Mr. Ozmint to look for a better, more efficient way of delivering medical service at a lower price. But the state must exercise due diligence in considering privatizing such a vital service.

South Carolina had problems when it hired a private company, Correctional Medical Services, to deliver health care in some prisons from 1986 to 2000. CMS is one of three national firms looking to get the state’s business this time around. The other two are Wexford and Prison Health Services.

A March 2000 Legislative Audit Council report said the state did not do its homework before deciding to privatize prison health care last time. The state should not make the same mistake again.

The state is responsible for providing an adequate level of health care to prisoners. It cannot simply subcontract those duties to a private firm and allow the free market to govern how services are delivered. It must ensure that they are provided in a manner consistent with governmental principles.

South Carolina’s prison medical system works fairly well. It delivers service at less cost than many other states, even cheaper than most of the approximately 30 that privatize their medical care. But Mr. Ozmint believes the state can get a better price and better coverage. The state does not have around-the-clock medical coverage in some prisons.

In order to determine whether hiring a private firm is best, the idea must withstand necessary scrutiny.

Mr. Ozmint has said he wants his “ducks in a row” before committing to privatization. That should include honoring the will of the Legislature and waiting for the study on privatization to be completed.