“Ambulance services that serve our prisons are usually small rural services, often funded by taxpayer millages and fees for service,” said Prestin, R-Cedar River. “They operate on razor-thin budgets, so when a large company with state contracts doesn’t pay its bills, the ambulance services are severely impacted. Wellpath has refused to pay the several millions of dollars it owes services across the state, leaving individual departments unreimbursed for tens of thousands of dollars. The communities that rely on these essential services are being unfairly punished with the financial burden of Wellpath’s decisions. The state must step in and fulfill its responsibilities to first responders while holding irresponsible contractors accountable.”

“Corrections officers aren’t leaving their jobs because they’re mad about taking a few college credits ten years ago. They’re leaving because they don’t get paid enough,” said Prestin, R-Cedar River. “The department is shoveling money into a traveling circus that jumps from job fair to job fair, basically begging people to become corrections officers. What they don’t tell you is 6 out of 10 officers leave just a few months into the job once they realize how little they’re paid to work in a warzone waiting to explode and have no solid family life. MDOC needs to fund the things that matter, like increased pay and benefits. We’ll never fix this crisis if we don’t keep the well-trained, hardworking staff already doing the job.”