Former MDOC contractor owes $6 million to local emergency responders

State Rep. Jaime Greene is calling for a supplemental budget to reimburse Michigan EMS providers for services provided to inmates in Michigan’s prisons in 2023 and 2024.

Wellpath, the former health care contractor for the Michigan Department of Corrections, owes more than $6 million to EMS agencies throughout Michigan, according to the Michigan Association of Ambulance Services.

“This is absolutely outrageous,” said Greene, R-Richmond. “Our EMS providers put their lives on the line every day to ensure that all patients, including those incarcerated in our prisons, receive the emergency care they need. Now, they’re being told they won’t be paid for the services they provided. It’s time for the Legislature to step in and right this wrong.”

Wellpath’s contract with the state ended in April 2024, leaving at least 15 EMS providers across Michigan unpaid for their services. The company recently told EMS agencies that it is unable to pay the claims, leaving them to absorb millions of dollars in unreimbursed costs. Wellpath is placing blame on the Michigan Department of Corrections, claiming administrators there did not disclose that Wellpath would be responsible for paying emergency responders.

Richmond Lenox EMS, in Greene’s district, is one of the agencies affected.

“Michigan EMS providers are asking the Legislature to reimburse us for our work so that it does not impact the care we provide to our local communities,” said Jeff White, chief of Richmond Lenox EMS. “At a time when EMS remains underfunded nationwide, this is a hit we simply cannot afford.”

Greene made it clear that Richmond taxpayers should not be left to foot the bill for the failures of Wellpath or the Michigan Department of Corrections. She is calling on the Legislature to pass a supplemental budget bill to ensure that every impacted EMS agency is fully reimbursed.

“Our EMS providers stepped up when they were needed most,” Greene said. “Now it’s our turn to step up for them. The hardworking taxpayers in Richmond and other communities shouldn’t be on the hook for these unpaid bills.”

Greene is also calling on the Michigan Attorney General’s Office and the Michigan Auditor General to investigate Wellpath and the Michigan Department of Corrections.

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