The University of Utah’s Huntsman Mental Health Institute and Summit County partnered in 2019 to expand mental health coverage. That contract will expire in 2024.

According to Summit County Council Chair Roger Armstrong, a major discussion point during contract renegotiations has been the finances.

“It’s become unsustainable for HMHI. They’re losing about $1.6 million a year, is what they tell us, under the current contract,” he said.

Armstrong chalks a lot of that up to billing. He said billing Medicaid is easy, but when patients are uninsured, billing through Utah’s own system is more difficult.

“So money gets stuck for months at a time,” Armstrong said. “HMHI has been waiting for some reimbursements for nine, 10, 11 months.”

The county is hoping to change the billing system to get HMHI reimbursed more quickly, but Armstrong said it would cost extra to change up the software.

That could be hundreds of thousands of dollars, if Summit County doesn’t find a long-term solution. As the council goes through the budgeting process for the next fiscal year, it’s keeping potential mental health care costs in mind.

“We’re looking at all options at this point, as we head toward the renegotiation and possible renewal—or not. We may not be able to work it out,” Armstrong said.

The Huntsman Mental Health Institute declined to comment on the negotiations.

Armstrong said the U was able to expand services in Summit County far beyond where they originally were.

The county’s original mental health care provider, Valley Behavioral Health, was only able to coordinate seven providers, with high turnover rates. Under the university’s stewardship, the number of providers shot up to 90.