§328 — Title 24 Hospitals and Asylums | U.S. Code

Summary

A person hospitalized under section 324, or that person’s estate, must pay or help pay for care and treatment the same way they would if they lived in the District of Columbia and owed payment under D.C. law for care in a mental hospital. The Secretary can check a person’s ability to pay and may reduce or forgive the debt if that is fair or if collecting would cost more than it would bring in. Money collected goes into the Treasury as miscellaneous receipts, and any lawsuit to get the money must be brought in the name of the United States in a proper court. "Costs or charges" means a per-day rate set by the Secretary matching what other paying patients are charged at a Department of Health and Human Services hospital, or, for care elsewhere, the contract rate or a per-day rate based on that contract.

Title 24, §328

Hospitals and Asylums — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Any person hospitalized under section 324 of this title or his estate, shall be liable to pay or contribute toward the payment of the costs or charges for his care and treatment to the same extent as such person would, if resident in the District of Columbia, be liable to pay, under the laws of the District of Columbia, for his care and maintenance in a hospital for the mentally ill in that jurisdiction. The Secretary may, in his discretion, where in his judgment substantial justice will be best served thereby or the probable recovery will not warrant the expense of collection, compromise or waive the whole or any portion of any claim under this section. In carrying out this section, the Secretary may make or cause to be made such investigations as may be necessary to determine the ability of any person hospitalized under section 324 of this title to pay or contribute toward the cost of his hospitalization. All collections or reimbursement on account of the costs and charges for the care of the eligible person shall be deposited in the Treasury as miscellaneous receipts. Any judicial proceedings to recover such costs or charges shall be brought in the name of the United States in any court of competent jurisdiction.

(b)As used in this section, the term “costs or charges” means, in the case of hospitalization at a hospital under the jurisdiction of the Department of Health and Human Services, a per diem rate prescribed by the Secretary on a basis comparable to that charged for any other paying patients and, in the case of persons hospitalized elsewhere, the contract rate or a per diem rate fixed by the Secretary on the basis of the contract rate.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Change of Name

“Department of Health and Human Services” substituted in text for “Department of Health, Education, and Welfare” pursuant to section 509(b) of Pub. L. 96–88 which is classified to section 3508(b) of Title 20, Education.

§328 Payment for care and treatment

Summary

Title 24, §328

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Change of Name

Citations & Metadata