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               ENGROSSED SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 2396

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State of Washington      53rd Legislature     1994 Regular Session

By House Committee on Corrections (originally sponsored by Representatives Orr, Morris, Sommers, Dellwo, Padden, Conway, Linville, Kremen, Chandler, Foreman, Lisk, Long, Johanson, Silver, Cothern, Kessler, J. Kohl, Chappell, Romero, Holm, Jones, Sheldon, Eide, Rayburn, L. Johnson, Springer and H. Myers)

Read first time 01/28/94.

Requiring prisoners to make a one dollar payment for each medical visit.

    AN ACT Relating to medical care for inmates; and adding a new section to chapter 72.10 RCW.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.  A new section is added to chapter 72.10 RCW to read as follows:

    Any health care services plan provided to inmates by the department shall require the inmate to be responsible for a nominal payment of five dollars per medical encounter, in addition to any other financial responsibility the inmate may have for medical care.  Any subsequent encounters ordered by the attending health care provider directly related to the original diagnosis shall not require that an encounter fee be charged to the offender.  Mental health encounters and medical encounters required for the dispensation of prescribed pharmaceuticals or for readily apparent injuries or traumas shall not be subject to the medical encounter fee.  The payment shall be deducted from the personal account of the inmate or paid in person.  Necessary medical services may not be denied due to lack of funds in the inmate's personal account.

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