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Commissioners debate mental-health transport, billing disputes with Yankton as senator cites new law
Summary
County officials discussed repeated challenges transporting mental-health patients out of county, a case where Yankton reportedly refused admission citing old unpaid bills, and plans to meet with tribal and hospital partners; State Sen. Tamara Grove said a recently passed bill will limit retroactive provider recoupment, likely effective July 1.
County commissioners spent a substantial portion of their meeting discussing repeated difficulties arranging transport and post-admission hearings for residents in mental-health crisis and a related billing dispute with a Yankton facility.
Tamara Grove, the state senator for District 26, told the board she supports local efforts to resolve the matter and noted a law passed during the recent legislative session that will limit a health-care provider’s ability to retroactively recoup or deny previously paid claims. “The title is to limit the ability of a health care provider to recoup, recover, or retroactively deny previously paid claims,” Grove said, adding she believes the new limit will take effect around July 1 and that the lookback period will be much shorter than past practice (she recalled “90 days” but did not quote the final statutory language).
On the record, commissioners described a recent case in which a resident taken to Yankton was allegedly not accepted for care because of unpaid bills dating back many years. One participant said the facility told them “we haven’t paid for 13 years,” and county staff reported they had not received billing notices. A county staff member said the mental-health board chair in Yankton indicated the Indian Health Service (IHS) had not paid the bills; commissioners said the county attorney and the tribal leadership would need to be involved to sort responsibility for historic charges.
Commissioners emphasized the operational impact: children and adults in crisis have been sent out of county (sometimes to Chamberlain and other facilities) and transports frequently require law-enforcement involvement. The board agreed staff should contact the county’s attorney and try to convene a meeting with local hospitals (Sanford was mentioned), tribal representatives and other stakeholders to clarify responsibilities, possible cost-sharing, and improved transport procedures.
The board did not adopt a formal policy at the meeting. Commissioners asked staff to pursue follow-up with legal counsel and proposed scheduling a multi-party discussion to address transport logistics, billing processes and the practical effects of the new state law on retroactive billing claims.
Next step: staff will contact the county attorney and attempt to set a meeting with tribal leaders and regional health providers to seek operational solutions and clarify billing responsibility.
