Washington State

House of Representatives

Office of Program Research

BILL

ANALYSIS

General Government Appropriations Committee

HB 1780

This analysis was prepared by non-partisan legislative staff for the use of legislative members in their deliberations. This analysis is not a part of the legislation nor does it constitute a statement of legislative intent.

Brief Summary of Bill

Continues current practices regarding the financial responsibility for costs of medical care provided to arrestees, keeping the government unit responsible for the costs of medical care as the governmental unit that initiated charges rather than the governmental unit whose law enforcement officers initiated charges.

Background:

Inmates confined in state and local correctional facilities are categorically ineligible for

Medicaid. For those medical care services not provided through the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS), local governments or medical care providers may obtain reimbursement for care services from jail inmates, including reimbursement from any insurance program or from other medical benefit programs available to the confined person.

Under current law, to the extent that a confined jail inmate is unable to be financially responsible for medical care and is ineligible for the DSHS medical care programs or for coverage from private sources, local governments may obtain reimbursement for the cost of such medical services from the unit of government that initiated the charges on which the person is being held.

Under current law, effective June 30, 2009, the statutory language relating to responsibility for medical care costs will revert back to the previous version, which provides that that if no other funding source is available for medical costs, local governments may obtain reimbursement for the cost of such medical services from the unit of government whose law enforcement officer initiated the charges on which the person is being held.

Summary of Bill:

The expiration date for the current statute assigning financial responsibility for costs of medical care provided to arrestees is repealed. The governmental unit responsible for the costs of medical care will continue to be the unit that initiated charges rather than the unit whose law enforcement officers initiated charges.