Fremont County agrees to pay $457k to settle suit

Fremont County and Lander Regional Hospital have reached a settlement in a yearlong lawsuit over unpaid bills for mental health examinations for residents who may need to be hospitalized.

The county will pay $457,000 for evaluations from 2009 to Dec. 15. Lander parent company LifePoint Hospitals had sought more than $800,000 in unpaid bills from the county. Both sides disputed how much the county owed for evaluations of patients who faced involuntary hospitalization for mental illness.

Both sides said they reached an agreement last month to avoid the costs, disruption and uncertainty of litigation.

County Commissioners and the hospital reached an agreement for future evaluations Dec. 13.