NEW ULM — The Brown County Board will consider contracting Avera McKennan Health Center to provide mental health services.

The agreement to be considered by the board on Tuesday would be from July 1 through June 30, 2023.

Brown County has a contract with Avera McKennan Health Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, to pay for mental health holds when a patient for whom Brown County is financially responsible is admitted to its jail facility and has no insurance coverage.

Due to the difficulty in locating Minnesota beds, it is not unusual for a patient to be transferred to Avera McKennan. In rare instances when Avera McKennan is not able to bill insurance, the health care provider is requesting increasing the daily hospital rate from $896 to $985.60. The rate hike would be the first one since the contract was reviewed by the board in 2014.

The board meeting begins at 9 a.m. Tuesday, July 12 in the courthouse commissioner’s room.