Report: Out-of-county inpatients won't cost more By Monique Balas News-Chronicle Out-of-county patients at the Mental Health Center will not cost Brown County more money than in-county patients do, a report investigating those costs revealed. The study was discussed at Thursday's Brown County Human Services Board meeting and was done for the county as it considers building a proposed $32 million Mental Health Center. The report was prepared by Joan Daniel, financial officer for the MHC. "I noticed in the newspaper that Ms. Kelso had said we lost money on every out-of-county patient at the Mental Health Center," said board member Joan Mills, who requested the report. Brown County Executive Carol Kelso announced last month that 46 percent of MHC psychiatric patients are not Brown County residents, and each one costs the county $50 more than the outlying counties pay for their stays. Daniel's report revealed total expenditures for inpatients at the MHC came out nearly even when including fixed overhead costs: Cost is about $542 per patient per day, but the county gets reimbursed $539 through total revenues. "The bottom line is it's cost-effective for Brown County to have out-of-county patients," said Sup. Pat Collins, a board member. At the meeting Mills expressed concern that none of the board members serve on a 16-member mental-health task force appointed by Kelso to investigate MHC options. "She has never been to the MHC," Mills said. Mills motioned to recommend to Kelso that board members Steve Fewell or Paula Geishirt serve on the task force "so that we can have some input."