Commissioners discuss a roughly $220,000 inmate hospital bill and budget pressures

Commissioners at the Wichita County meeting on May 15 discussed a high-cost hospital bill for an inmate transferred to UT Southwestern and the broader budgetary effects when inmates need out-of-county medical care. "It's 37% of the bill, and the bill is a little over $220,000," one commissioner said, characterizing the figure the court had received.

Speakers noted the bill does not capture other costs: transports, hotel rooms and overtime for staff who accompany or relieve custodial staff during lengthy hospital stays. A commissioner said such episodes "can be a quarter million dollars for a 12 day" hospitalization when hidden costs are added.

The chair also told the court the county expects to refund "just over $5,000 to Red River Hospital" because of a law change from the last legislative session that requires refunds of certain court costs for Medicaid-only patients; the chair described that as an unfunded mandate. The transcript discussion did not include a motion or vote; commissioners said they will track these expenses and be aware of them in the upcoming budget season.

The court did not specify whether the $220,000 figure includes all charges or only hospital invoice amounts; the transcript contains an unclear reference to "37%" without an explicit explanation of what portion that percentage denotes.