Public health is about to get more expensive in Adams and Arapahoe counties, as the rapid unraveling of the Tri-County Health Department forces both metro counties to figure out how to best safeguard the wellbeing of more than a million residents amid an ongoing global pandemic. That’s the conclusion of a consultant’s report released last week, which calculated that Adams and Arapahoe counties will have to spend millions more to provide public health services whether they join forces or choose to each go it alone. The difficult — and sudden — choice facing the two counties stems from Douglas County’s decision last month to break off from Tri-County and form its own health department following a months-long battle over COVID-19 public health orders, culminating with Tri-County’s directive that all students be masked while in school. Douglas County had been the third member of Tri-County since 1966.