1. The board of county commissioners of the county in which a public hospital is located may determine whether patients presented to the public hospital for treatment are subjects of charity. Except as otherwise provided in NRS 439B.330, the board of county commissioners shall establish by ordinance criteria and procedures to be used in the determination of eligibility for medical care as medical indigents or subjects of charity.

2. The board of hospital trustees shall fix the charges for treatment of those persons able to pay for the charges, as the board deems just and proper. The board of hospital trustees may impose an interest charge of not more than 12 percent per annum on unpaid accounts. The receipts must be paid to the county treasurer and credited to the hospital fund. In fixing charges pursuant to this subsection the board of hospital trustees shall not include, or seek to recover from paying patients, any portion of the expense of the hospital which is properly attributable to the care of indigent patients.

3. Except as provided in subsection 4 of this section and subsection 3 of NRS 439B.320, the county is chargeable with the entire cost of services rendered by the hospital and any salaried staff physician or employee to any person admitted for emergency treatment, including all reasonably necessary recovery, convalescent and follow-up inpatient care required for any such person as determined by the board of trustees of the hospital, but the hospital shall use reasonable diligence to collect the charges from the emergency patient or any other person responsible for the support of the patient. Any amount collected must be reimbursed or credited to the county.

4. The county is not chargeable with the cost of services rendered by the hospital or any attending staff physician or surgeon to the extent the hospital is reimbursed for those services pursuant to NRS 428.115 to 428.255, inclusive.

[14:169:1929; NCL § 2238] — (NRS A 1969, 875; 1975, 1305; 1977, 480; 1983, 1943; 1985, 1463; 1987, 389, 878; 1993, 1975)