Mower County will have to pay its share of a local county-based health purchasing plan after a district court judge ruled the program is on track.

Friday, February 23, 2001

Mower County will have to pay its share of a local county-based health purchasing plan after a district court judge ruled the program is on track.

Mower County stopped making payments to the South Country Health Alliance (SCHA) last summer because it said the alliance had changed from its original intent. Now, even though Mower County has dropped out of the alliance, it will have to pay its share of startup costs and follow the joint powers guidelines for removing themselves.

The decision handed down last week was a disappointment to county officials, Mower County Commissioner Len Miller said. The county will make payments as ordered, and pay the SCHA back payments owed since last July, but they do not plan on participating in the program.

"We’re still going to withdraw," Miller said. "We’re not going to change our mind on that."

The SCHA, a managed-care system that will replace traditional medical assistance providers, is in the final stages of planning, said Darryl Meyer, director of the Freeborn County Department of Human Services.

Participating counties include Brown, Dodge, Freeborn, Goodhue, Kanabec, Sibley, Steele, Wabasha and Waseca.

Through SCHA, counties can act as an insurance company for medical assistance or general medical assistance programming enrollees currently covered under the Prepaid Medical Assistance Program (PMAP). Some MinnesotaCares enrollees also will be eligible.