Bernalillo County approves $4 million MDC medical budget increase
Bernalillo County commissioners added $4 million for MDC medical care after travel nurses pushed jail staffing to 38% contract workers, far above UNM Hospital’s 10% systemwide rate.
Bernalillo County commissioners approved a $4 million budget reconciliation for Metropolitan Detention Center medical costs as the jail’s health care spending rose on heavy use of travel nurses. The increase comes on top of a county budget that totaled $975.1 million in 2023-2024 and a $1.03 billion operating budget approved for the next year.
The numbers point to staffing, not a spike in medical prices, as the main pressure on the jail budget. UNM Hospital spokesperson Chris Ramirez said 38% of the nurses working at MDC are contract or travel nurses, compared with 10% across all of UNM Hospital. Inside a jail, that kind of staffing mix matters because people in custody still need medication, chronic-disease care, psychiatric support and emergency treatment.
The higher cost lands in the middle of a larger overhaul of detention-center health services. MDC ended its contract with YesCare in January, and Bernalillo County and UNM Hospital have already begun planning for new healthcare services at the jail. The current arrangement grew out of a four-year professional services agreement that began in 2023 for medical, dental and behavioral health care, with county records showing an April 26, 2023 agreement and a Feb. 17, 2023 announcement about the partnership.
Staffing problems at MDC have also affected daily jail operations. Reports have described dangerously low staffing levels as a long-running issue, and one inmate summed up the disruption this way: “We’re usually locked down Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday.” That kind of lockdown pattern helps explain why the county is spending more just to keep the facility running and medical care covered.
The pressure is not likely to ease soon. UNM Hospital will no longer provide medical services at MDC starting July 2027, leaving Bernalillo County to absorb current overruns while preparing for another provider change. For taxpayers, the $4 million reconciliation is a sign that MDC health care remains expensive, temporary staffing remains central to the operation, and the county’s broader budget still has to make room for the fallout.
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