Detox will cost more

Tis the season for contracts.

Le Sueur County Human Services Director Sue Rynda appeared before the County Board on November 21 to give the monthly Human Services report and ask for board approval on several contracts, including a new, more expensive, agreement for detox services.

A contract for detox services was unanimously approved with Brown County Evaluation Center, Inc. in New Ulm, for the term of January 1, 2018, thru December 31, 2018.

The cost of the service will increase by 12.6 percent or $36 per day compared to 2017 costs for the services.

Brown County Evaluation Center, Inc. listed two reasons for the increase in a letter to member counties: “The first factor for the increase is we are unable to bill Blue Plus insurance company. Blue Plus no longer reimburses detoxification services as they had in the past. Billing Blue Plus allowed us to bill at an increased rate compared to the count per diem rate which in turn saved member counties money. The second factor is our days of service are down over 200 client days, year to date.”

According to the agreement, Detoxification service provided at the New Ulm, Minnesota Detox Facility is $411 per patient per twentyfour- hour period beginning at time of admission.

Additional contracts approved by the board include: • TriMin Systems Inc. out of St. Paul was approved to provide the county with computer programming and technical assistance for the maintenance and support of the county’s current systems. • A master contract with Minnesota Valley Action Council for 2018, a contract with Greater Minnesota Family Services for 2018, and a Minnesota Family Investment Program (MFIP) biennial agreement were approved.

Other Business • David Yates was approved as a....

To see more on this story pick up the November 30, 2017 print edition of the paper.