24 U.S.C. § 328 — Payment for care and treatment

Page 31 TITLE 24—HOSPITALS AND ASYLUMS § 329 spouse, or next of kin shall, if known, be imme- diately notified. (Pub. L. 86–571, § 5, July 5, 1960, 74 Stat. 309.) § 326. Release of patient (a) Request; determination of right to retain; re- tention after request If a person who is a patient hospitalized under section 322 or 324 of this title, or his legal guard- ian, spouse, or adult next of kin, requests the re- lease of such patient, the right of the Secretary, or the head of the hospital, to detain him for care and treatment shall be determined in ac- cordance with such laws governing the deten- tion, for care and treatment, of persons alleged to be mentally ill as may be in force and appli- cable generally in the State in which such hos- pital is located, but in no event shall the patient be detained more than forty-eight hours (exclud- ing any period of time falling on a Sunday or legal holiday) after the receipt of such request unless within such time (1) judicial proceedings for such hospitalization are commenced or (2) a judicial extension of such time is obtained, for a period of not more than five days, for the com- mencement of such proceedings. (b) Transfer to another hospital The Secretary is authorized at any time, when he deems it to be in the interest of the person or of the institution affected, to transfer any per- son hospitalized under section 324 of this title from one hospital to another, and to that end any judicial commitment of any person so hos- pitalized may be to the Secretary. (Pub. L. 86–571, § 6, July 5, 1960, 74 Stat. 309.) § 327. Notification to committing court of dis- charge or conditional release In the case of any person hospitalized under section 324 of this title who has been judicially committed to the Secretary’s custody, the Sec- retary shall, upon the discharge or conditional release of such person, or upon such person’s transfer and release under section 323 of this title, notify the committing court of such dis- charge or conditional release or such transfer and release. (Pub. L. 86–571, § 7, July 5, 1960, 74 Stat. 310.) § 328. Payment for care and treatment (a) Persons liable; scope of liability; compromise or waiver; investigations; judicial pro- ceedings 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 dis- cretion, where in his judgment substantial jus- tice will be best served thereby or the probable recovery will not warrant the expense of collec- tion, compromise or waive the whole or any por- tion 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 hospitaliza- tion. All collections or reimbursement on ac- count of the costs and charges for the care of the eligible person shall be deposited in the Treas- ury as miscellaneous receipts. Any judicial pro- ceedings 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 Depart- ment of Health and Human Services, a per diem rate prescribed by the Secretary on a basis com- parable to that charged for any other paying pa- tients 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 con- tract rate. (Pub. L. 86–571, § 8, July 5, 1960, 74 Stat. 310; Pub. L. 96–88, title V, § 509(b), Oct. 17, 1979, 93 Stat. 695.) Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries CHANGE OF NAME ‘‘Department of Health and Human Services’’ sub- stituted 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, Edu- cation. § 329. Availability of appropriations for transpor- tation Appropriations for carrying out this chapter shall also be available for the transportation of any eligible person and necessary attendants to or from a hospital (including any hospital of a State or political subdivision to which an eligi- ble person is released under section 323 of this title), to the place where a relative to whom any person is released under section 323 of this title resides, or to a person’s home upon his discharge from hospitalization under this chapter. (Pub. L. 86–571, § 9, July 5, 1960, 74 Stat. 310.) CHAPTER 10—ARMED FORCES RETIREMENT HOME Sec. 401. Definitions. SUBCHAPTER I—ESTABLISHMENT AND OPERATION OF RETIREMENT HOME 411. Establishment of the Armed Forces Retire- ment Home. 412. Residents of Retirement Home. 413. Services provided to residents. 413a. Oversight of health care provided to resi- dents. 414. Fees paid by residents. 415. Chief Operating Officer. 416. Advisory Council. 416a. Resident Advisory Committees. 417. Administrators, Ombudsmen, and staff of fa- cilities. 418. Periodic inspection of retirement home facili- ties.