Sec. 263.083. SUPPORT. (a) The superintendent shall inquire into a patient's circumstances and the circumstances of the patient's relatives legally responsible for the patient's support if the patient is admitted to the hospital from the county in which the hospital is located. If the superintendent finds that the patient or the patient's relatives are liable to pay for the patient's care and treatment in whole or in part, the superintendent shall issue an order directing the patient or the patient's relatives to pay to the treasurer of the hospital a specified amount each week in proportion to the financial ability of the patient or the patient's relatives to pay.

(b) A patient or the patient's relatives may not be required to pay an amount greater than the actual per capita cost of maintenance.

(c) A superintendent may collect an amount owed under this section from the estate of a patient, or the relatives legally responsible for the patient's support, in the manner provided by law for the collection of expenses of the last illness of a decedent.

(d) A county court of the county in which a patient's hospital is located shall hear and determine the ability of the patient or the patient's relatives to pay under this section if there is a dispute over that ability or if there is doubt in the mind of the superintendent of the hospital over that ability. The court shall hear witnesses and issue any order that may be proper. The order may not be appealed.

(e) Discrimination in the accommodations, care, or treatment of a patient may not be made because the patient or the patient's relatives contribute to the cost, in whole or in part, of the patient's maintenance.

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.