Sec. 286.082. INDIGENT CARE. (a) The district without charge shall supply to a patient residing in the district the care and treatment that the patient or a relative of the patient who is legally responsible for the patient's support cannot pay.

(b) Not later than the first day of each operating year, the district shall adopt an application procedure to determine eligibility for assistance, as provided by Section 61.053.

(c) The administrator of the district may have an inquiry made into the financial circumstances of:

(1) a patient residing in the district and admitted to a district facility; and

(2) a relative of the patient who is legally responsible for the patient's support.

(d) On finding that a patient or a relative of the patient legally responsible for the patient's support can pay for all or any part of the care and treatment provided by the district, the administrator shall report that finding to the board, and the board shall issue an order directing the patient or the relative to pay the district each week a specified amount that the individual is able to pay.

(e) The administrator may collect money owed to the district from the estate of a patient or from that of a relative who was legally responsible for the patient's support in the manner provided by law for collection of expenses in the last illness of a deceased person.

(f) If there is a dispute relating to an individual's ability to pay or if the administrator has any doubt concerning an individual's ability to pay, the board shall call witnesses, hear and resolve the question, and issue a final order. An appeal from a final order of the board must be made to a district court in the county in which the district is located, and the substantial evidence rule applies.

Added by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 14, Sec. 121, eff. Sept. 1, 1991.