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Title 24, Hospitals and AsylumsRelease 119-110

§328 Payment for Care and Treatment

Title 24 › CHAPTER 9 — HOSPITALIZATION OF MENTALLY ILL NATIONALS RETURNED FROM FOREIGN COUNTRIES › § 328

Last updated Sep 22, 2026|Official source

Summary

People hospitalized under section 324, or their estates, must pay or help pay for their care the same way they would if they lived in the District of Columbia under D.C. law. The Secretary can reduce or cancel a claim if that is fair or if collecting would likely cost more than what could be recovered. The Secretary may check a person's ability to pay. Money collected goes to the Treasury as miscellaneous receipts. Any lawsuit to recover costs must be brought by the United States in a court with proper authority. "Costs or charges" means a per-day rate set by the Secretary: for hospitals run by HHS it matches what other paying patients are charged; for other hospitals it is the contract rate or a per-day rate based on that contract.

Full Legal Text

Title 24, §328

Hospitals and Asylums, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Persons liable; scope of liability; compromise or waiver; investigations; judicial proceedings
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)“Costs or charges” defined
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.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

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.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

24 U.S.C. § 328

Title 24, Hospitals and Asylums

Last Updated

Sep 22, 2026

Release point: 119-110