Tri County secures outside correctional-health contractor after local provider exit; county share of 2026 costs rises

Tri County Community Corrections officials told Polk County commissioners on Oct. 21 that the county's correctional-health provider arrangement is changing after a local medical partner said it would end those services. Tri County's administrator said the board approved a short-term contract with Advanced Correctional Healthcare (ACH) to keep the jail and juvenile center staffed while the agencies and vendors work on a longer-term plan.

The change follows legislation that Tri County officials said requires jails to continue inmates' community prescriptions on intake. Tri County's presentation said that requirement has made some outside providers — including the health system that had provided on-site clinician services — unwilling to continue. "Once that temporary restraining order was lifted, then the provider's like, no, we're done," the Tri County administrator said in the meeting.

Why it matters: Tri County's administrator and budget documents presented to Polk County show a substantial increase in Tri County's 2026 operating costs tied to the new contractor. Tri County reported the contract will raise its health-care line by roughly $445,000 compared with 2025 budget figures; Polk County's budget materials show Polk's share of Tri County costs rising by about $594,000 year over year under Tri County's current proposal. Polk County officials said those changes will be reflected in the county's levy planning this fall.

What Tri County said: The administrator said Tri County held a special meeting to approve the ACH contract after the prior clinical contractor gave notice. "That is gonna result in an increase of about $445,000 in the health care costs," the administrator told commissioners. Tri County staff said ACH operates in many Minnesota counties and can provide 24/7 physician access and the kind of integrated medical-mental-health services the jail needs.

Provider reactions and legal context: Tri County said the Minnesota Sheriffs' Association and ACH have filed litigation challenging parts of the state policy; a temporary restraining order around the policy had been lifted, Tri County said, increasing pressure on local providers to stop jail medical coverage. The administrator said multiple vendors have signaled they may exit corrections health work if the policy remains as written.

Revenue and program impacts: Tri County staff described offsetting revenue possibilities including higher per-diem housing of federal inmates, Immigration & Customs Enforcement and U.S. Marshals service placements, and increases in juvenile-center per diems, but cautioned those revenues are variable and not guaranteed. Tri County also reported several grant-funded programs ending in 2025 (pretrial supervision and opioid-related funding) that will reduce outside revenue and pressure member counties' levies.

Next steps: Tri County approved the ACH contract to keep services running; Polk County staff said they will include Tri County's revised per-county cost share in Polk's levy discussion and continue monitoring federal per-diem and grant revenue assumptions. County staff and Tri County said they will continue talks with other counties and state partners about long-term correctional-health delivery and to track litigation and policy developments.

Sources: Tri County budget presentation to Polk County Board; Tri County administrator and budget slides presented at the Polk County budget workshop.