| Explore privatization South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford's philosophy that government should focus on doing only those essential services that it can do better than the private sector, is now zeroing in on the state's prison health care system. The privatization idea stemmed from a June budget hearing, says Will Folks, the governor's spokesman. If the private sector can provide reasonable health care to inmates more efficiently than the state Corrections Department can, then it makes sense to privatize. Surely, it's an idea worth looking into. It wouldn't be the first time it was tried either. St. Louis-based Correctional Medical Services Inc., a private medical provider, previously serviced some of the state's prisons, but dropped its contract four years ago after a dispute over how much it was being paid and how much service it was to provide. To be sure, state corrections employees, fearing they could lose their jobs, are adamantly opposed to privatization. But the central issue shouldn't be about saving their jobs. It's about easing the state's humongous multibillion dollar deficit and relieving the financial pain of hard-pressed taxpayers. About 300 Corrections Department employees from across the state met in Columbia earlier this week to discuss Sanford's proposal. Some of the health care workers said they not only feared the loss of their jobs, but also that the inmates wouldn't receive the quality of care they're entitled to. They wouldn't have the same access to specialists if a private company takes over, said Melanie Davis, laboratory director at Kirkland Correctional Institute. "They won't get the medical care they need." That, of course, is speculative. Who's to say privatization wouldn't actually provide better care than the government? But it does raise an interesting question: How much quality medical care are inmates entitled to? Any care convicts receive is a lot more than many law-abiding, low- and middle-income South Carolinians who can't afford health care insurance will ever get. Is that fair? Somehow we can't get worked up about the quality of health care criminals receive behind bars. Yes, they're entitled to care, but minimum care, not maximum. Besides, according to Folks, the governor is not interested in curtailing care to inmates - his principal concern is to see if privatization can cut costs without cutting the current level of medical services. Sanford should be encouraged to pursue that line of inquiry. In fact, he wouldn't be doing his job if he didn't.
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