Colorado County files $2.95 million tobacco‑settlement expenditure claim after reporting $2.56 million in unreimbursed health expenses

Colorado County’s Commissioners Court on Feb. 9 approved the county’s 2026 Expenditure Statement of Unreimbursed Health Care Expenses and participation in the Texas Department of State Health Services Tobacco Settlement Distribution Program.

County Auditor Michelle Lowrance, listed in the packet as the county contact for the statement, presented detailed attachments that break unreimbursed expenditures into the program categories required by 25 Tex. Admin. Code § 102.3: Category A (indigent health care), Category B (jail health care) and Category C (general public health care services). The minutes show Category subtotals and line items including emergency medical services and medical supplies. The subtotal for Category A+B+C in the packet is $2,563,375.12; applying the program’s 1.15 multiplier for overhead yields a total amount to be claimed of $2,947,881.39.

Commissioner Ryan Brandt moved to authorize approval of the expenditure statement and the county’s participation in the program; Commissioner Shannon Owers seconded. The court approved the motion by voice vote, 4–0. The minutes identify Lowrance as the primary contact and show that the court certified the statement for submission. The record notes the county’s list of prior‑year expenditures by category and a departmental contact email for follow‑up.