Florida Statutes 394.4789 – Establishment of referral process and eligibility determination
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(1) It is the intent of the Legislature that a hospital which seeks payment under s. 394.4788 shall accept referrals from the department. However, a hospital shall have the right to refuse the admission of a patient due to lack of functional bed space or lack of services appropriate to a patient’s specific treatment and no hospital shall be required to accept referrals if the costs for treating the referred patient are no longer reimbursable because the hospital has reached the level of contribution made to the PMATF in the previous fiscal year. Furthermore, a hospital that does not seek compensation for indigent mentally ill patients under the provisions of this act shall not be obliged to accept department referrals, notwithstanding any agreements it may have entered into with the department. The right of refusal in this subsection shall not affect a hospital’s requirement to provide emergency care pursuant to s. 395.1041 or other statutory requirements related to the provision of emergency care.
(2) The department shall adopt a patient eligibility form and shall be responsible for eligibility determination. However, the department may contract with participating psychiatric hospitals for eligibility determination. The eligibility form shall provide the mechanism for determining a patient’s eligibility according to the requirements of s. 394.4788(1).
(a) A specialty psychiatric hospital shall be eligible for reimbursement only when an eligibility form has been completed for each indigent mentally ill person for whom reimbursement is sought.
Terms Used In Florida Statutes 394.4789
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Department: means the Department of Children and Families. See Florida Statutes 394.455
- Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
- Hospital: means a hospital licensed under chapter 395 and part II of chapter 408. See Florida Statutes 394.455
- Patient: means any person, with or without a co-occurring substance abuse disorder, who is held or accepted for mental health treatment. See Florida Statutes 394.455
- person: includes individuals, children, firms, associations, joint adventures, partnerships, estates, trusts, business trusts, syndicates, fiduciaries, corporations, and all other groups or combinations. See Florida Statutes 1.01
(b) As part of eligibility determination, every effort shall be made by the hospital to determine if any third party insurance coverage is available.