PARIS – County officials have decided to continue using an outside agency to administer medications and to respond to basic health needs at the Oxford County Jail.

A two-year contract with Allied Resources for Correctional Health of Augusta will go into effect Jan. 1, Jail Administrator Capt. Ernest Martin said Tuesday.

The county began employing the services of Allied Resources last spring, Martin said. “The biggest overriding reason was the transfer of liability,” he added, explaining that the jail had previously required its own staff to administer inmates’ medications.

Since the change, Allied Resources has supplied a physician’s assistant and up to four nurses to respond to health-related complaints and administer medications at the jail.

Martin said December’s numbers are still outstanding, but the jail has likely saved as much as $10,000 in health-care costs this year.

However, not all the savings are directly related to the outside agency. The “lion’s share” of the savings, Martin said, can be attributed to a relatively recent state law.

On Sept. 13, 2003, the Maine Legislature passed a law stating that a county jail cannot pay a health-care provider more than the MaineCare rate.

Between Nov. 30, 2003, and Nov. 30, 2004, the jail saw prescription medication costs drop from $38,528 to $21,219, Martin said.

During the same time frame, costs for medical services dropped from $65,649 to $57,008.

The county was scheduled to pay Allied Resources for Correctional Health $32,083 for a partial year of services in 2004.

A contract approved by the Oxford County commissioners at a Dec. 21 meeting was for $40,00 in 2005 and $41,500 in 2006.