Bill Text: FL S0452 | 2012 | Regular Session | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

---

Bill Title: Financial Responsibility for Medical Expenses of Pretrial Detainees and Sentenced Inmates

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 3-1)

Status: (Failed) 2012-03-09 - Died in Messages [S0452 Detail]

Download: Florida-2012-S0452-Introduced.html

---

       Florida Senate - 2012                                     SB 452
       
       
       
       By Senator Jones
       
       
       
       
       13-00457A-12                                           2012452__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to financial responsibility for
    3         medical expenses of pretrial detainees and sentenced
    4         inmates; amending s. 901.35, F.S.; providing that the
    5         responsibility for paying the expenses of medical
    6         care, treatment, hospitalization, and transportation
    7         for a person who is ill, wounded, or otherwise injured
    8         during or as a result of an arrest for a violation of
    9         a state law or a county or municipal ordinance is the
   10         responsibility of the person receiving the medical
   11         care, treatment, hospitalization, or transportation;
   12         removing provisions establishing the order by which
   13         medical providers receive reimbursement for the
   14         expenses incurred in providing the medical services or
   15         transportation; amending s. 951.032, F.S.; setting
   16         forth the order by which a county or municipal
   17         detention facility may seek reimbursement for the
   18         expenses incurred during the course of treating or
   19         transporting in-custody pretrial detainees or
   20         sentenced inmates; requiring that each in-custody
   21         pretrial detainee or sentenced inmate who receives
   22         medical care or other services cooperate with the
   23         county or municipal detention facility in seeking
   24         reimbursement for the expenses incurred by the
   25         facility; setting forth the order of fiscal resources
   26         from which a third-party provider of medical services
   27         may seek reimbursement for the expenses the provider
   28         incurred in providing medical care; requiring that the
   29         county or municipality pay the costs of medical
   30         services provided by a third-party provider at
   31         specified rates, under certain circumstances;
   32         requiring that each in-custody pretrial detainee or
   33         sentenced inmate who has health insurance, subscribes
   34         to a health care corporation, or receives health care
   35         benefits from any other source assign such benefits to
   36         the health care provider; defining the term “in
   37         custody pretrial detainee or sentenced inmate”;
   38         providing that law enforcement personnel or county or
   39         municipal detention facility personnel are responsible
   40         for restricting the personal freedom of certain in
   41         custody pretrial detainees or sentenced inmates;
   42         providing that the act does not apply to certain
   43         counties; providing that certain charter counties are
   44         not obligated to reimburse a third-party provider of
   45         medical care, treatment, hospitalization, or
   46         transportation for an in-custody pretrial detainee or
   47         sentenced inmate of a county detention facility at a
   48         rate exceeding a particular rate for certain
   49         transportation or medical costs; providing an
   50         effective date.
   51  
   52  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   53  
   54         Section 1. Section 901.35, Florida Statutes, is amended to
   55  read:
   56         901.35 Financial responsibility for medical expenses.—
   57         (1) Except as provided in s. 951.032 Notwithstanding any
   58  other provision of law, the responsibility for paying the
   59  expenses of medical care, treatment, hospitalization, and
   60  transportation for any person ill, wounded, or otherwise injured
   61  during or as a result at the time of an arrest for any violation
   62  of a state law or a county or municipal ordinance is the
   63  responsibility of the person receiving such care, treatment,
   64  hospitalization, and transportation. The provider of such
   65  services shall seek reimbursement for the expenses incurred in
   66  providing medical care, treatment, hospitalization, and
   67  transportation from the following sources in the following
   68  order:
   69         (a) From an insurance company, health care corporation, or
   70  other source, if the prisoner is covered by an insurance policy
   71  or subscribes to a health care corporation or other source for
   72  those expenses.
   73         (b) From the person receiving the medical care, treatment,
   74  hospitalization, or transportation.
   75         (c) From a financial settlement for the medical care,
   76  treatment, hospitalization, or transportation payable or
   77  accruing to the injured party.
   78         (2) Upon a showing that reimbursement from the sources
   79  listed in subsection (1) is not available, the costs of medical
   80  care, treatment, hospitalization, and transportation shall be
   81  paid:
   82         (a) From the general fund of the county in which the person
   83  was arrested, if the arrest was for violation of a state law or
   84  county ordinance; or
   85         (b) From the municipal general fund, if the arrest was for
   86  violation of a municipal ordinance.
   87  
   88  The responsibility for payment of such medical costs shall exist
   89  until such time as an arrested person is released from the
   90  custody of the arresting agency.
   91         (3) An arrested person who has health insurance, subscribes
   92  to a health care corporation, or receives health care benefits
   93  from any other source shall assign such benefits to the health
   94  care provider.
   95         Section 2. Section 951.032, Florida Statutes, is amended to
   96  read:
   97         951.032 Financial responsibility for medical expenses.—
   98         (1) A county detention facility or municipal detention
   99  facility incurring expenses for providing medical care,
  100  treatment, hospitalization, or transportation provided by the
  101  county or municipal detention facility may seek reimbursement
  102  for the expenses incurred during the course of treatment of an
  103  in-custody pretrial detainee or sentenced inmate in the
  104  following order:
  105         (a) From the in-custody pretrial detainee or sentenced
  106  inmate prisoner or person receiving medical care, treatment,
  107  hospitalization, or transportation by deducting the cost from
  108  the in-custody pretrial detainee’s or sentenced inmate’s
  109  prisoner’s cash account on deposit with the detention facility.
  110  If the in-custody pretrial detainee’s or sentenced inmate’s
  111  prisoner’s cash account does not contain sufficient funds to
  112  cover medical care, treatment, hospitalization, or
  113  transportation, then the detention facility may place a lien
  114  against the in-custody pretrial detainee’s or sentenced inmate’s
  115  prisoner’s cash account or other personal property, to provide
  116  payment in the event sufficient funds become available at a
  117  later time. Any existing lien may be carried over to future
  118  incarceration of the same detainee or inmate prisoner as long as
  119  the future incarceration takes place within the county
  120  originating the lien and the future incarceration takes place
  121  within 3 years after of the date the lien was placed against the
  122  in-custody pretrial detainee’s or sentenced inmate’s prisoner’s
  123  account or other personal property.
  124         (b) From an insurance company, health care corporation, or
  125  other source if the in-custody pretrial detainee or sentenced
  126  inmate prisoner or person is covered by an insurance policy or
  127  subscribes to a health care corporation or other source for
  128  those expenses.
  129         (2) An in-custody pretrial detainee or sentenced inmate A
  130  prisoner who receives medical care, treatment, hospitalization,
  131  or transportation by a county or municipal detention facility
  132  shall cooperate with that the county detention facility or
  133  municipal detention facility in seeking reimbursement under
  134  paragraphs (1)(a) and (b) for expenses incurred by the facility
  135  for the in-custody pretrial detainee or sentenced inmate
  136  prisoner. An in-custody pretrial detainee or sentenced inmate A
  137  prisoner who willfully refuses to cooperate with the
  138  reimbursement efforts of the detention facility may have a lien
  139  placed against his or her the prisoner’s cash account or other
  140  personal property and may not receive gain-time as provided by
  141  s. 951.21.
  142         (3) A third-party provider of medical care, treatment,
  143  hospitalization, or transportation for an in-custody pretrial
  144  detainee or sentenced inmate of a county or municipal detention
  145  facility shall seek reimbursement for the expenses incurred in
  146  providing medical care, treatment, hospitalization, and
  147  transportation to the in-custody pretrial detainee or sentenced
  148  inmate from the following sources in the following order:
  149         (a) From an insurance company, health care corporation, or
  150  other source, if the pretrial detainee or sentenced inmate is
  151  covered by an insurance policy or subscribes to a health care
  152  corporation or other source for those expenses.
  153         (b) From the pretrial detainee or sentenced inmate
  154  receiving the medical care, treatment, hospitalization, or
  155  transportation.
  156         (c) From a financial settlement for the medical care,
  157  treatment, hospitalization, or transportation payable or
  158  accruing to the injured pretrial detainee or sentenced inmate.
  159         (4) Upon a showing by the third-party provider that a good
  160  faith effort was made, consistent with that provider’s usual
  161  policies and procedures related to the collection of fees from
  162  patients outside the custody of a county or municipal detention
  163  facility, to obtain reimbursement from the sources listed in
  164  subsection (3), but that such reimbursement is not available,
  165  the costs of medical care, treatment, hospitalization, and
  166  transportation shall be paid:
  167         (a) From the general fund of the county in which the person
  168  was arrested, if the arrest was for violation of a state law or
  169  county ordinance; or
  170         (b) From the municipal general fund, if the arrest was for
  171  violation of a municipal ordinance.
  172         (5) Absent a written agreement between the third-party
  173  provider and the governmental body, the remuneration made
  174  pursuant to subsection (4) must be paid by the governmental body
  175  at a rate not to exceed the following:
  176         (a) For emergency services and care resulting in a
  177  discharge from the emergency room, and unrelated to an
  178  admission, provided by a hospital licensed under chapter 395, 75
  179  percent of the hospital’s billed charges;
  180         (b) For hospital inpatient services, 110 percent of the
  181  Medicare Part A prospective payment applicable to the specific
  182  hospital providing the inpatient services;
  183         (c) For all other outpatient services, 110 percent of the
  184  Medicare Part A Ambulatory Payment Classification or Part B for
  185  the specific provider of the outpatient services; and
  186         (d) For hospitals reporting a negative operating margin for
  187  the previous year to the Agency for Health Care Administration
  188  through hospital-audited financial data, the payments in
  189  paragraphs (b) and (c) shall be 125 percent of the applicable
  190  Medicare prospective payment.
  191         (6) Subsection (5) does not apply to amounts billed and
  192  paid for physicians licensed under chapter 458 or chapter 459
  193  for emergency services provided within a hospital emergency
  194  department.
  195         (7) The responsibility of the governmental body for payment
  196  of any in-custody medical cost ceases upon release of the in
  197  custody pretrial detainee or sentenced inmate.
  198         (8) An in-custody pretrial detainee or sentenced inmate who
  199  has health insurance, subscribes to a health care corporation,
  200  or receives health care benefits from any other source shall
  201  assign such benefits to the health care provider.
  202         (9) As used in this section, the term “in-custody pretrial
  203  detainee or sentenced inmate” means a person whose physical
  204  freedom is restricted by a certified law enforcement officer or
  205  certified correctional officer pending disposition of an arrest
  206  or completion of a county court sentence. The term also includes
  207  a person who is furloughed by a criminal court for the express
  208  purpose of receiving medical treatment if a condition of the
  209  furlough is the immediate return to the custody of a county or
  210  municipal detention facility following completion of such
  211  treatment.
  212         (10) Law enforcement personnel or personnel of the county
  213  or municipal detention facility are responsible for restricting
  214  the personal freedom of an in-custody pretrial detainee or
  215  sentenced inmate receiving treatment or services under this
  216  section.
  217         Section 3. This act does not apply to a charter county that
  218  has a population of more than 1.7 million as of the most recent
  219  decennial census. A charter county that has two hospital
  220  districts within its geographical boundaries is not obligated to
  221  reimburse any third-party provider of medical care, treatment,
  222  hospitalization, or transportation for an in-custody pretrial
  223  detainee or sentenced inmate of a county detention facility at a
  224  rate exceeding the rate paid, as of July 1, 2012, to the
  225  hospital districts located within its boundaries for similar
  226  medical costs, regardless of whether such reimbursement rate has
  227  been established and implemented by policy or practice or
  228  through a contractual arrangement. A charter county that has a
  229  county public hospital is not obligated to reimburse any third
  230  party provider of medical care, treatment, hospitalization, or
  231  transportation for an in-custody pretrial detainee or sentenced
  232  inmate of a county detention facility at a rate exceeding the
  233  rate paid, as of July 1, 2012, to a private or not-for-profit
  234  hospital located within the charter county for similar medical
  235  cost, regardless of whether such reimbursement rate has been
  236  established and implemented by policy or practice or through a
  237  contractual arrangement.
  238         Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2012.