CS/HB 257

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to financial responsibility for medical
3	expenses of arrestees, pretrial detainees, or sentenced
4	inmates; amending s. 901.35, F.S.; providing that the
5	responsibility for paying the expenses of medical care,
6	treatment, hospitalization, and transportation for a
7	person who is ill, wounded, or otherwise injured during or
8	as a result of an arrest for a violation of a state law or
9	a county or municipal ordinance is the responsibility of
10	the person receiving the medical care, treatment,
11	hospitalization, or transportation; deleting provisions
12	establishing the order by which medical providers receive
13	reimbursement for the expenses incurred in providing the
14	medical services; amending s. 951.032, F.S.; setting forth
15	the order by which a county or municipal detention
16	facility may seek reimbursement for the expenses incurred
17	during the course of treating pretrial detainees or
18	sentenced inmates; requiring each pretrial detainee or
19	sentenced inmate who receives medical care or other
20	services to cooperate with the county or municipal
21	detention facility in seeking reimbursement for the
22	expenses incurred by the facility and providing for
23	certain liens against pretrial detainees or sentenced
24	inmates; setting forth the order of fiscal resources from
25	which a third-party provider of medical services may seek
26	reimbursement for the expenses the provider incurred in
27	providing medical care; requiring each arrestee, pretrial
28	detainee, or sentenced inmate who has health insurance,
29	subscribes to a health care corporation, or receives
30	health care benefits from any other source to assign such
31	benefits to the health care provider; requiring assignment
32	of health insurance or health care benefits to providers
33	by arrestees, detainees, or inmates who have such
34	insurance or benefits; providing an effective date.
35
36	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
37
38	Section 1.  Section 901.35, Florida Statutes, is amended to
39	read:
40	901.35  Financial responsibility for medical expenses.-
41	(1)  Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the
42	responsibility for paying the expenses of medical care,
43	treatment, hospitalization, and transportation for any person
44	ill, wounded, or otherwise injured during or as a result at the
45	time of an arrest for any violation of a state law or a county
46	or municipal ordinance is the responsibility of the person
47	receiving such care, treatment, hospitalization, and
48	transportation. The provider of such services shall seek
49	reimbursement in accordance with s. 951.032. The provider of
50	such services shall seek reimbursement for the expenses incurred
51	in providing medical care, treatment, hospitalization, and
52	transportation from the following sources in the following
53	order:
54	(a)  From an insurance company, health care corporation, or
55	other source, if the prisoner is covered by an insurance policy
56	or subscribes to a health care corporation or other source for
57	those expenses.
58	(b)  From the person receiving the medical care, treatment,
59	hospitalization, or transportation.
60	(c)  From a financial settlement for the medical care,
61	treatment, hospitalization, or transportation payable or
62	accruing to the injured party.
63	(2)  Upon a showing that reimbursement from the sources
64	listed in subsection (1) is not available, the costs of medical
65	care, treatment, hospitalization, and transportation shall be
66	paid:
67	(a)  From the general fund of the county in which the
68	person was arrested, if the arrest was for violation of a state
69	law or county ordinance; or
70	(b)  From the municipal general fund, if the arrest was for
71	violation of a municipal ordinance.
72
73	The responsibility for payment of such medical costs shall exist
74	until such time as an arrested person is released from the
75	custody of the arresting agency.
76	(3)  An arrested person who has health insurance,
77	subscribes to a health care corporation, or receives health care
78	benefits from any other source shall assign such benefits to the
79	health care provider.
80	Section 2.  Section 951.032, Florida Statutes, is amended
81	to read:
82	951.032  Financial responsibility for medical expenses.-
83	(1)  A county detention facility or municipal detention
84	facility incurring expenses for providing medical care,
85	treatment, hospitalization, or transportation to pretrial
86	detainees or sentenced inmates may seek reimbursement for the
87	expenses incurred in the following order:
88	(a)  From the pretrial detainee or sentenced inmate
89	prisoner or person receiving medical care, treatment,
90	hospitalization, or transportation by deducting the cost from
91	the pretrial detainee's or sentenced inmate's prisoner's cash
92	account on deposit with the detention facility. If the pretrial
93	detainee's or sentenced inmate's prisoner's cash account does
94	not contain sufficient funds to cover medical care, treatment,
95	hospitalization, or transportation, then the detention facility
96	may place a lien against the pretrial detainee's or sentenced
97	inmate's prisoner's cash account or other personal property, to
98	provide payment in the event sufficient funds become available
99	at a later time. Any existing lien may be carried over to future
100	incarceration of the same detainee or inmate prisoner as long as
101	the future incarceration takes place within the county
102	originating the lien and the future incarceration takes place
103	within 3 years after of the date the lien was placed against the
104	pretrial detainee's or sentenced inmate's prisoner's account or
105	other personal property.
106	(b)  From an insurance company, health care corporation, or
107	other source if the pretrial detainee or sentenced inmate
108	prisoner or person is covered by an insurance policy or
109	subscribes to a health care corporation or other source for
110	those expenses.
111	(2)  A pretrial detainee or sentenced inmate prisoner who
112	receives medical care, treatment, hospitalization, or
113	transportation from a county or municipal detention facility
114	shall cooperate with that the county detention facility or
115	municipal detention facility in seeking reimbursement under
116	paragraphs (1)(a) and (b) for expenses incurred by the facility
117	for the pretrial detainee or sentenced inmate prisoner. A
118	pretrial detainee or sentenced inmate prisoner who willfully
119	refuses to cooperate with the reimbursement efforts of the
120	detention facility may have a lien placed against his or her the
121	prisoner's cash account or other personal property and may not
122	receive gain-time as provided by s. 951.21.
123	(3)  A third-party provider of medical care, treatment,
124	hospitalization, or transportation for arrestees, pretrial
125	detainees, or sentenced inmates of a county or municipal
126	detention facility shall seek reimbursement for the expenses
127	incurred in providing medical care, treatment, hospitalization,
128	and transportation to such arrestees, pretrial detainees, or
129	sentenced inmates from the following sources in the following
130	order:
131	(a)  From an insurance company, health care corporation, or
132	other source, if the arrestee, pretrial detainee, or sentenced
133	inmate is covered by an insurance policy or subscribes to a
134	health care corporation or other source for those expenses.
135	(b)  From the arrestee, pretrial detainee, or sentenced
136	inmate receiving the medical care, treatment, hospitalization,
137	or transportation.
138	(c)  From a financial settlement for the medical care,
139	treatment, hospitalization, or transportation payable or
140	accruing to the injured arrestee, pretrial detainee, or
141	sentenced inmate.
142	(4)  Upon a showing by the third-party provider that a good
143	faith effort was made, consistent with that provider's usual
144	policies and procedures related to the collection of fees from
145	indigent patients outside the custody of a county or municipal
146	detention facility, to obtain reimbursement from the sources
147	listed in subsection (3), but that such reimbursement is not
148	available, the costs of medical care, treatment,
149	hospitalization, and transportation shall be paid:
150	(a) For a person who receives such services during or as a
151	result of an arrest:
152	1.  From the general fund of the county in which the person
153	was arrested, if the arrest was for violation of a state law or
154	county ordinance; or
155	2.  From the municipal general fund, if the arrest was for
156	violation of a municipal ordinance.
157	(b)  For a person who receives such services while detained
158	in a county detention facility, from the county general fund.
159	(c)  For a person who receives such services while detained
160	in a municipal detention facility, from the municipal general
161	fund.
162
163	Absent a written agreement between the third-party provider and
164	the county or municipality, remuneration made pursuant to
165	paragraph (a), paragraph (b), or paragraph (c) shall be billed
166	by the third-party provider and paid by the county or
167	municipality at a rate not to exceed 110 percent of the Medicare
168	allowable rate for such services. Compensation to a third-party
169	provider may not exceed 125 percent of the Medicare allowable
170	rate if there is no written agreement between the third-party
171	provider and the county or municipality, and the third-party
172	provider reported a negative operating margin for the previous
173	year to the Agency for Health Care Administration through
174	hospital-audited financial data. However, these maximum
175	allowable rates do not apply to amounts billed and paid for
176	physicians licensed under chapter 458 or chapter 459 for
177	emergency services provided within a hospital emergency
178	department. The responsibility of the county or municipality for
179	payment of any in-custody medical costs shall cease upon release
180	of the arrestee, pretrial detainee, or sentenced inmate.
181	(5)  An arrestee, pretrial detainee, or sentenced inmate
182	who has health insurance, subscribes to a health care
183	corporation, or receives health care benefits from any other
184	source shall assign such benefits to the health care provider.
185	Section 3.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2011.

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.