(a) Notwithstanding Section 29602 of the Government Code and any other provisions of this chapter, a county, city or the Department of the Youth Authority is authorized to make claim for and recovery of the costs of necessary hospital, medical, surgical, dental, or optometric care rendered to any prisoner confined in a county or city jail or any juvenile confined in a detention facility, who would otherwise be entitled to that care under the Medi-Cal Act (Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 14000) Part 3, Division 9, of the Welfare and Institutions Code), and who is eligible for that care on the first day of confinement or detention, to the extent that federal financial participation is available, or under the provisions of any private program or policy for that care, and the county, city or the Department of the Youth Authority shall be liable only for the costs of that care as cannot be recovered pursuant to this section. No person who is eligible for Medi-Cal shall be eligible for benefits under the provisions of this section, and no county or city or the Department of the Youth Authority is authorized to make a claim for any recovery of costs for services for that person, unless federal financial participation is available for all or part of the costs of providing services to that person under the Medi-Cal Act.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any county or city making a claim pursuant to this section and under the Medi-Cal Act shall reimburse the Health Care Deposit Fund for the state costs of paying those medical claims. Funds allocated to the county from the County Health Services Fund pursuant to Part 4.5 (commencing with Section 16700) of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code may be utilized by the county or city to make that reimbursement.
(b) Notwithstanding Section 29602 of the Government Code and any other provisions of this chapter, to the extent that recovery of costs of necessary hospital, medical, surgical, dental, or optometric care are not accomplished under subdivision (a), a county, city, or the Department of the Youth Authority is authorized to make claim for and recover from a prisoner or a person legally responsible for a prisoner’s care and maintenance the costs of necessary hospital, medical, surgical, dental, or optometric care rendered to any prisoner confined in a county or city jail, or any juvenile confined in a detention facility, where the prisoner or the person legally responsible for the prisoner’s care and maintenance is financially able to pay for the prisoner’s care, support, and maintenance. Nothing in this subdivision shall be construed to authorize a city, a county, or the Department of the Youth Authority to make a claim against a spouse of a prisoner.
(c) Necessary hospital, medical, dental, or optometric care, as used in this section, does not include care rendered with respect to an injury occurring during confinement in a county or city jail or juvenile detention facility, nor does it include any care or testing mandated by law.
(d) Subdivisions (b) and (c) shall apply only where there has been a determination of the present ability of the prisoner or responsible third party to pay all or a portion of the cost of necessary hospital, medical, surgical, dental, or optometric care. The person legally responsible for the prisoner’s care shall provide a financial disclosure statement, executed under penalty of perjury, based on his or her past year’s income tax return, to the Department of the Youth Authority. The city, county, or Department of the Youth Authority may request that the prisoner appear before a designated hearing officer for an inquiry into the ability of the prisoner or responsible third party to pay all or part of the cost of the care provided.
(e) Notice of this request shall be provided to the prisoner or responsible third party, which shall contain the following:
(1) A statement of the cost of the care provided to the prisoner.
(2) The prisoner’s or responsible third party’s procedural rights under this section.
(3) The time limit within which the prisoner or responsible third party may respond.
(4) A warning that if the prisoner or responsible third party fails to appear before, or respond to, the designated officer, the officer may petition the court for an order requiring him or her to make payment of the full cost of the care provided to the prisoner.
(f) At the hearing, the prisoner or responsible third party shall be entitled to, but shall not be limited to, all of the following rights:
(1) The right to be heard in person.
(2) The right to present witnesses and documentary evidence.
(3) The right to confront and cross-examine adverse witnesses.
(4) The right to have adverse evidence disclosed to him or her.
(5) The right to a written statement of the findings of the designated hearing officer.
(g) If the hearing officer determines that the prisoner or responsible third party has the present ability to pay all or a part of the cost, the officer shall set the amount to be reimbursed, and shall petition the court to order the prisoner or responsible third party to pay the sum to the city, county, or state, in the manner in which it finds reasonable and compatible to the prisoner’s or responsible third party’s financial ability. The court’s order shall be enforceable in the manner provided for money judgments in a civil action under the Code of Civil Procedure.
(h) At any time prior to satisfaction of the judgment rendered according to the terms of this section, a prisoner or responsible third party against whom a judgment has been rendered, may petition the rendering court for a modification of the previous judgment on the grounds of a change of circumstance with regard to his or her ability to pay the judgment. The prisoner or responsible third party shall be advised of this right at the time the original judgment is rendered.
(i) As used in this section, “ability to pay” means the overall capacity of the prisoner or responsible third party to reimburse the costs, or a portion of the costs, of the care provided to the prisoner, and shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following:
(1) The prisoner’s or responsible third party’s present financial position.
(2) The prisoner’s or responsible third party’s discernible future financial position.
(3) The likelihood that the prisoner or responsible third party will be able to obtain employment in the future.
(4) Any other factor or factors which may bear upon the prisoner’s or responsible third party’s financial position.
(Amended by Stats. 2001, Ch. 854, Sec. 52. Effective January 1, 2002.)