(Radio Iowa) – State officials have rejected bids from companies applying to provide medical care inside Iowa’s nine prisons and Governor Kim Reynolds says it made sense to check to see if a private company could provide those services more efficiently than state-paid prison staff.

“Making sure that we’re using taxpayer dollars wisely,” Reynolds said. “…We shouldn’t be afraid of doing that and people shouldn’t think that just because we are looking that it means it’s going to stop or we’re going to eliminate it or we’re going to change course. You should constantly be looking at how we can do things better and never be afraid of being better at what we’re doing because these are taxpayer dollars that we’re utilizing and these are really important services that we’re providing.”

About 300 state employees who provide medical care to Iowa prison inmates would have been affected if a private company had been hired to do the work. Dozens of medical staff in Iowa prisons resigned after they were informed this summer that the state might hire a private company to do the work. Iowa Public Radio was first to report last week’s decision against privatizing prison medical care.