| 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 |
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| 36 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 37 |
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| 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 |
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| 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 |
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| 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. |
