Supervisor reports Robert Young Center seeking early contract termination; county official says move could reduce region costs

A Muscatine County supervisor reported Jan. 6 that the Eastern Iowa Mental Health Region is working through the Robert Young Center’s request to terminate its contract early, and that the region expects the change to shift billing procedures and reduce monthly costs.

The supervisor said the region held a special meeting on Friday, Jan. 3 to discuss the Robert Young Center’s desire to terminate the contract early and to plan for a transition to an administrative service organization. The supervisor said termination-related changes for service providers are expected Feb. 28, when providers will send bills to the region and the region will handle management and billing.

"We had a good meeting," the supervisor said, reporting that the management team and governing board will work through remaining items over the next 30 to 45 days to allow termination of the contract as quickly as possible. The supervisor told the board that the anticipated change in provider billing and the contract shift could reduce regional costs by roughly $200,000 a month and about $750,000 based on current projections for 2025. The supervisor said those savings would help avoid planned additional cuts in the region’s services.

The supervisor characterized the transition as likely to require staff time and some short-term difficulty but said it should put the region "in the black for 2025," based on projections discussed at the meeting. No formal action was taken by the Muscatine County Board of Supervisors on the Robert Young Center contract during the Jan. 6 meeting; the supervisor’s remarks were given as a committee/governing-board report.