BILL NUMBER: AB 2387	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Miller

                        FEBRUARY 19, 2010

   An act to amend Section 4011.10 of the Penal Code, relating to
county jails.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 2387, as introduced, Miller. County jails: inmate emergency
health care.
   (1) Existing law authorizes a county sheriff, police chief, or
other public agency that contracts for emergency health services, to
contract with providers of emergency health care services for care to
local law enforcement patients. Under existing law, a county sheriff
or police chief is prohibited from releasing inmates from custody
for the purpose of seeking medical care, with the intent to rearrest,
unless the hospital determines the action would enable it to collect
from a 3rd-party source. Existing law requires an Inmate Health Care
and Medical Provider Fair Pricing Working Group to be convened and
meet as needed to identify and resolve industry issues that create
fiscal barriers to timely and affordable emergency inmate health
care, among other things. Under existing law, all of these provisions
are to be repealed as of January 1, 2014.
   This bill would delete the repeal date and would add a definition
for "local law enforcement patient". Because the bill would extend
existing duties imposed upon local law enforcement, the bill would
create a state-mandated local program.
   (2) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse
local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
   This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates
determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these
statutory provisions.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 4011.10 of the Penal Code is amended to read:
   4011.10.  (a) It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this
section to provide county sheriffs, chiefs of police, and directors
or administrators of local detention facilities with an incentive to
not engage in practices designed to avoid payment of legitimate
emergency health care costs for the treatment or examination of
persons lawfully in their custody, and to promptly pay those costs as
requested by the provider of services. Further, it is the intent of
the Legislature to encourage county sheriffs, chiefs of police, and
directors or administrators of local detention facilities to bargain
in good faith when negotiating a service contract with hospitals
providing emergency health care services.
   (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a county sheriff,
police chief  ,  or other public agency that contracts for
emergency health services, may contract with providers of emergency
health care services for care to local law enforcement patients.
Hospitals that do not contract with the county sheriff, police chief,
or other public agency that contracts for emergency health care
services shall provide emergency health care services to local law
enforcement patients at a rate equal to 110 percent of the hospital's
actual costs according to the most recent Hospital Annual Financial
Data report issued by the Office of Statewide Health Planning and
Development, as calculated using a cost-to-charge ratio.
   (c) A county sheriff or police chief shall not request the release
of an inmate from custody for the purpose of allowing the inmate to
seek medical care at a hospital, and then immediately rearrest the
same individual upon discharge from the hospital, unless the hospital
determines this action would enable it to bill and collect from a
third-party payment source.
   (d) The California Hospital Association, the University of
California, the California State Sheriffs' Association  , 
and the California Police Chiefs' Association shall, immediately upon
enactment of this section, convene the Inmate Health Care and
Medical Provider Fair Pricing Working Group. The working group shall
consist of at least six members from the California Hospital
Association and the University of California, and six members from
the California State Sheriffs' Association and the California Police
Chiefs' Association. Each organization should give great weight and
consideration to appointing members of the working group with diverse
geographic and demographic interests. The working group shall meet
as needed to identify and resolve industry issues that create fiscal
barriers to timely and affordable emergency inmate health care. In
addition, the working group shall address issues including, but not
limited to, inmates being admitted for care and later rearrested and
any other fiscal barriers to hospitals being able to enter into fair
market contracts with public agencies. To the extent that the rate
provisions of this statute result in a disproportionate share of
local law enforcement patients being treated at any one hospital or
system of hospitals, the working group shall address this issue. No
reimbursement is required under this provision.
   (e) Nothing in this section shall require or encourage a hospital
or public agency to replace any existing arrangements that any city
police chief, county sheriff, or other public agency that contracts
for emergency health services for care to local law enforcement
patients.
   (f) An entity that provides ambulance or any other emergency or
nonemergency response service to a sheriff or police chief, and that
does not contract with their departments for that service, shall be
reimbursed for the service at the rate established by Medicare.
Neither the sheriff nor the police chief shall reimburse a provider
of any of these services that their department has not contracted
with at a rate that exceeds the provider's reasonable and allowable
costs, regardless of whether the provider is located within or
outside of California.
   (g) For the purposes of this section, "reasonable and allowable
costs" shall be defined in accordance with Part 413 of Title 42 of
the Code of Federal Regulations and federal Centers for Medicare and
Medicaid Services Publication Numbers  15.1  
15-1  and  15.2   15-2  .
   (h) For purposes of this section, in those counties in which the
sheriff does not administer a jail facility, a director or
administrator of a local department of corrections established
pursuant to Section 23013 of the Government Code is the person who
may contract for services provided to jail inmates in the facilities
he or she administers in those counties. 
   (i) This section is repealed as of January 1, 2014.  

   (i) For purposes of this section, "local law enforcement patient"
means any person seeking medical treatment or examination, in the
custody of an officer of a county sheriff's department, a city or
county police department, or a local detention facility, regardless
of whether or not the person in custody has been delivered, received,
or booked in any county, city, city and county, or other local jail
or detention facility. 
  SEC. 2.  If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this
act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local
agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant
to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of
the Government Code.