HB 263

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to financial responsibility for
3	medical expenses of pretrial detainees or sentenced
4	inmates; amending s. 901.35, F.S.; providing that the
5	responsibility for paying certain medical expenses for
6	a person who is ill, wounded, or otherwise injured
7	during or as a result of an arrest for a violation of
8	a state law or a county or municipal ordinance is the
9	responsibility of the person receiving the medical
10	care; removing provisions establishing the order by
11	which medical providers receive reimbursement for such
12	expenses; amending s. 951.032, F.S.; setting forth the
13	order in which a county or municipal detention
14	facility may seek reimbursement for the expenses
15	incurred during the course of treating or transporting
16	in-custody pretrial detainees or sentenced inmates;
17	requiring each in-custody pretrial detainee or
18	sentenced inmate who receives medical care or other
19	services to cooperate with the county or municipal
20	detention facility in seeking such reimbursement;
21	setting forth the order of fiscal resources from which
22	a third-party provider of medical services may seek
23	reimbursement for such expenses; providing that,
24	absent a written agreement between a third-party
25	provider and a governmental body, certain remuneration
26	shall be paid by the governmental body at a specified
27	rate; providing an exception for certain emergency
28	services; specifying when governmental responsibility
29	for in-custody medical expenses ceases; requiring each
30	in-custody pretrial detainee or sentenced inmate who
31	has health insurance, subscribes to a health care
32	corporation, or receives health care benefits from any
33	other source to assign such benefits to the health
34	care provider; defining the term "in-custody pretrial
35	detainee or sentenced inmate"; providing that law
36	enforcement or detention facility personnel are
37	responsible for restricting the personal freedom of
38	certain in-custody pretrial detainees or sentenced
39	inmates; providing that the act does not apply to
40	certain counties; providing reimbursement obligations
41	of certain charter counties to third-party providers
42	of medical care, treatment, hospitalization, or
43	transportation for in-custody pretrial detainees or
44	sentenced inmates; providing an effective date.
45
46	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
47
48	Section 1.  Section 901.35, Florida Statutes, is amended to
49	read:
50	901.35  Financial responsibility for medical expenses.-
51	(1)  Except as provided in s. 951.032 Notwithstanding any
52	other provision of law, the responsibility for paying the
53	expenses of medical care, treatment, hospitalization, and
54	transportation for any person ill, wounded, or otherwise injured
55	during or as a result at the time of an arrest for any violation
56	of a state law or a county or municipal ordinance is the
57	responsibility of the person receiving such care, treatment,
58	hospitalization, and transportation. The provider of such
59	services shall seek reimbursement for the expenses incurred in
60	providing medical care, treatment, hospitalization, and
61	transportation from the following sources in the following
62	order:
63	(a)  From an insurance company, health care corporation, or
64	other source, if the prisoner is covered by an insurance policy
65	or subscribes to a health care corporation or other source for
66	those expenses.
67	(b)  From the person receiving the medical care, treatment,
68	hospitalization, or transportation.
69	(c)  From a financial settlement for the medical care,
70	treatment, hospitalization, or transportation payable or
71	accruing to the injured party.
72	(2)  Upon a showing that reimbursement from the sources
73	listed in subsection (1) is not available, the costs of medical
74	care, treatment, hospitalization, and transportation shall be
75	paid:
76	(a)  From the general fund of the county in which the
77	person was arrested, if the arrest was for violation of a state
78	law or county ordinance; or
79	(b)  From the municipal general fund, if the arrest was for
80	violation of a municipal ordinance.
81
82	The responsibility for payment of such medical costs shall exist
83	until such time as an arrested person is released from the
84	custody of the arresting agency.
85	(3)  An arrested person who has health insurance,
86	subscribes to a health care corporation, or receives health care
87	benefits from any other source shall assign such benefits to the
88	health care provider.
89	Section 2.  Section 951.032, Florida Statutes, is amended
90	to read:
91	951.032  Financial responsibility for medical expenses.-
92	(1)  A county detention facility or municipal detention
93	facility incurring expenses for providing medical care,
94	treatment, hospitalization, or transportation provided by the
95	county or municipal detention facility may seek reimbursement
96	for the expenses incurred during the course of treatment of in-
97	custody pretrial detainees or sentenced inmates in the following
98	order:
99	(a)  From the in-custody pretrial detainee or sentenced
100	inmate prisoner or person receiving medical care, treatment,
101	hospitalization, or transportation by deducting the cost from
102	the in-custody pretrial detainee's or sentenced inmate's
103	prisoner's cash account on deposit with the detention facility.
104	If the in-custody pretrial detainee's or sentenced inmate's
105	prisoner's cash account does not contain sufficient funds to
106	cover medical care, treatment, hospitalization, or
107	transportation, then the detention facility may place a lien
108	against the in-custody pretrial detainee's or sentenced inmate's
109	prisoner's cash account or other personal property, to provide
110	payment in the event sufficient funds become available at a
111	later time. Any existing lien may be carried over to future
112	incarceration of the same detainee or inmate prisoner as long as
113	the future incarceration takes place within the county
114	originating the lien and the future incarceration takes place
115	within 3 years after of the date the lien was placed against the
116	in-custody pretrial detainee's or sentenced inmate's prisoner's
117	account or other personal property.
118	(b)  From an insurance company, health care corporation, or
119	other source if the in-custody pretrial detainee or sentenced
120	inmate prisoner or person is covered by an insurance policy or
121	subscribes to a health care corporation or other source for
122	those expenses.
123	(2)  An in-custody pretrial detainee or sentenced inmate A
124	prisoner who receives medical care, treatment, hospitalization,
125	or transportation by a county or municipal detention facility
126	shall cooperate with that the county detention facility or
127	municipal detention facility in seeking reimbursement under
128	paragraphs(1)(a) and (b) for expenses incurred by the facility
129	for the in-custody pretrial detainee or sentenced inmate
130	prisoner. An in-custody pretrial detainee or sentenced inmate A
131	prisoner who willfully refuses to cooperate with the
132	reimbursement efforts of the detention facility may have a lien
133	placed against his or her the prisoner's cash account or other
134	personal property and may not receive gain-time as provided by
135	s. 951.21.
136	(3)  A third-party provider of medical care, treatment,
137	hospitalization, or transportation for in-custody pretrial
138	detainees or sentenced inmates of a county or municipal
139	detention facility shall seek reimbursement for the expenses
140	incurred in providing medical care, treatment, hospitalization,
141	and transportation to such in-custody pretrial detainees or
142	sentenced inmates from the following sources in the following
143	order:
144	(a)  From an insurance company, health care corporation, or
145	other source if the pretrial detainee or sentenced inmate is
146	covered by an insurance policy or subscribes to a health care
147	corporation or other source for those expenses.
148	(b)  From the pretrial detainee or sentenced inmate
149	receiving the medical care, treatment, hospitalization, or
150	transportation.
151	(c)  From a financial settlement for the medical care,
152	treatment, hospitalization, or transportation payable or
153	accruing to the injured pretrial detainee or sentenced inmate.
154	(4)  Upon a showing by the third-party provider that a good
155	faith effort was made, consistent with that provider's usual
156	policies and procedures related to the collection of fees from
157	indigent patients outside the custody of a county or municipal
158	detention facility, to obtain reimbursement from the sources
159	listed in subsection (3) but such reimbursement is not
160	available, the costs of medical care, treatment,
161	hospitalization, and transportation shall be paid:
162	(a)  From the general fund of the county in which the
163	person was arrested if the arrest was for violation of a state
164	law or county ordinance; or
165	(b)  From the municipal general fund if the arrest was for
166	violation of a municipal ordinance.
167	(5)  Absent a written agreement between the third-party
168	provider and the governmental body, the remuneration made
169	pursuant to subsection (4) must be paid by the governmental body
170	at a rate not to exceed the following:
171	(a)  For emergency services and care resulting in a
172	discharge from the emergency room, and unrelated to an
173	admission, provided by a hospital licensed under chapter 395, 75
174	percent of the hospital's billed charges.
175	(b)  For hospital inpatient services, 110 percent of the
176	Medicare Part A prospective payment applicable to the specific
177	hospital providing the inpatient services.
178	(c)  For all other outpatient services, 110 percent of the
179	Medicare Part A Ambulatory Payment Classification or Part B for
180	the specific provider of the outpatient services.
181
182	For hospitals reporting a negative operating margin for the
183	previous year to the Agency for Health Care Administration
184	through hospital-audited financial data, the payments in
185	paragraphs (b) and (c) shall be 125 percent of the applicable
186	Medicare prospective payment.
187	(6)  Subsection (5) does not apply to amounts billed and
188	paid for physicians licensed under chapter 458 or chapter 459
189	for emergency services provided within a hospital emergency
190	department.
191	(7)  The responsibility of the governmental body for
192	payment of any in-custody medical costs ceases upon release of
193	the in-custody pretrial detainee or sentenced inmate.
194	(8)  An in-custody pretrial detainee or sentenced inmate
195	who has health insurance, subscribes to a health care
196	corporation, or receives health care benefits from any other
197	source shall assign such benefits to the health care provider.
198	(9)  As used in this section, the term "in-custody pretrial
199	detainee or sentenced inmate" means a person whose physical
200	freedom is restricted by a certified law enforcement officer or
201	certified correctional officer pending disposition of an arrest
202	or completion of a county court sentence. The term also includes
203	a person who is furloughed by a criminal court for the express
204	purpose of receiving medical treatment if a condition of the
205	furlough is the immediate return to the custody of a county or
206	municipal detention facility following completion of such
207	treatment.
208	(10)  Law enforcement personnel or personnel of the county
209	or municipal detention facility are responsible for restricting
210	the personal freedom of in-custody pretrial detainees or
211	sentenced inmates receiving treatment or services under this
212	section.
213	Section 3.  This act does not apply to a charter county
214	that has a population of more than 1.7 million as of the most
215	recent decennial census. A charter county that has two hospital
216	districts within its geographical boundaries is not obligated to
217	reimburse any third-party provider of medical care, treatment,
218	hospitalization, or transportation for an in-custody pretrial
219	detainee or sentenced inmate of a county detention facility at a
220	rate exceeding the rate paid, as of July 1, 2012, for similar
221	medical costs to such hospital districts, regardless of whether
222	such reimbursement rate has been established and implemented by
223	policy or practice or through a contractual arrangement. A
224	charter county that has a county public hospital is not
225	obligated to reimburse any third-party provider of medical care,
226	treatment, hospitalization, or transportation for an in-custody
227	pretrial detainee or sentenced inmate of a county detention
228	facility at a rate exceeding the rate paid, as of July 1, 2012,
229	for similar medical costs to private or not-for-profit hospitals
230	located within the charter county, regardless of whether such
231	reimbursement rate has been established and implemented by
232	policy or practice or through a contractual arrangement.
233	Section 4.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2012.

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