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78R1800 JRJ-D

By:  Uresti                                                       H.B. No. 2536



A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to admission of certain nonresident patients to state 
chest hospitals.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  Sections 13.036(a) and (c), Health and Safety 
Code, are amended to read as follows:
	(a)  A resident of this state who has tuberculosis may be 
admitted to a state chest hospital.  A person who is not a resident 
of this state and who has tuberculosis may be admitted to a state 
chest hospital in accordance with Section 13.046.
	(c)  An application for admission to a state chest hospital 
shall be accompanied by a certificate issued by a physician stating 
that the physician has thoroughly examined the applicant and that 
the applicant has tuberculosis. In the case of an applicant who is 
not a resident of this state, the certificate may be issued by a 
physician who holds a license to practice medicine in the state of 
residence of the applicant.
	SECTION 2.  Section 13.038, Health and Safety Code, is 
amended by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (f) to 
read as follows:
	(a)  A patient admitted to a state chest hospital is a public 
patient and classified as indigent, [or] nonindigent, or 
nonresident.
	(f)  A nonresident public patient is a person who is admitted 
in accordance with an interstate agreement under Section 13.046.
	SECTION 3.  Subchapter B, Chapter 13, Health and Safety 
Code, is amended by adding Section 13.046 to read as follows:
	Sec. 13.046.  ADMISSION OF NONRESIDENT PATIENTS.  (a)  The 
department may enter into an agreement with an agency of another 
state responsible for the care of residents of that state who have 
tuberculosis under which:
		(1)  residents of the other state who have tuberculosis 
may be admitted to a state chest hospital, subject to the 
availability of appropriate space after the needs of eligible 
tuberculosis and chronic respiratory disease patients who are 
residents of this state have been met; and
		(2)  the other state is responsible for paying all 
costs of the hospitalization and treatment of patients admitted 
under the agreement.
	(b)  Section 13.041 does not apply to the return of a 
nonresident patient admitted to a state chest hospital in 
accordance with an agreement entered into under this section.  The 
return of that patient to the state of residence is governed by the 
agreement.
	SECTION 4.  Subchapter G, Chapter 81, Health and Safety 
Code, is amended by adding Section 81.211 to read as follows:
	Sec. 81.211.  FILING AND STATUS OF FOREIGN COURT ORDERS.  
(a)  In the case of a person who is not a resident of this state and 
who may be admitted to a state chest hospital in accordance with 
Section 13.046, the attorney general, at the request of the 
department, shall file a copy of an order issued by a court of 
another state that authorizes the commitment of the person to a 
health care facility for inpatient care in the manner provided by 
Chapter 35, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, for enforcement of 
foreign judgments.
	(b)  The application must be filed with the district court in 
the county in which the state chest hospital to which the person 
will be admitted is located.
	(c)  A filed foreign court order that authorizes the 
commitment of a person to a healthcare facility for inpatient care 
may be enforced in the same manner as a court order of the court in 
which it is filed.
	(d)  A foreign court order that authorizes the commitment of 
a person to a health care facility for inpatient care is subject to 
the contractual agreement with the foreign state entered into under 
Section 13.046.
	SECTION 5.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2003.