§ 10-1. Reimbursement from inmates of co-payments for medical psychiatric and dental expenses.

(a)

In compliance with and under the authority of LSA-R.S. 15:705, the sheriff of Cameron Parish shall withdraw from an inmate's commissary account reimbursement for co-payment of said inmate's medical, psychiatric or dental expenses at the time the expenses are incurred or as soon thereafter as the inmate's commissary account has sufficient assets for reimbursement of co-payments for medical, psychiatric or dental expenses, and shall reimburse such funds to the Cameron Parish police jury.

(b)

Except as provided for subsection (c) below, reimbursements for co-payments of medical, psychiatric and dental expenses shall be made prior to any other withdrawal from any inmates commissary account.

(c)

This section shall not prohibit the withdrawal of funds for the purpose of making payments under the Crime Victims Reparations Act, court costs as authorized by law, and other withdrawals authorized by law.

(d)

The sheriff shall establish policy for the collection of medical, psychiatric and dental expenses and for freezing assets in an inmate's commissary account and prohibiting withdrawals therefrom until the expenses are paid. The commissary account may be frozen regardless of the source of the assets contained therein.

(e)

The medical, psychiatric and [dental] reimbursement of co-payments due shall be conditioned upon the following:

(1)

The initial medical evaluation upon entry into the parish jail shall be made at no charge to the inmate.

(2)

Inmates shall be informed of the reimbursement of co-payment due requirement at the time a request for medical, psychiatric or dental services is made.

(3)

No inmate shall be refused medical, psychiatric or dental treatment due to insufficient funds.

(f)

The amount of reimbursement of co-payments due shall be according to the following schedule:

(1)

Inmates will be charged a three-dollar fee for each self-initiated request for medical, dental and psychiatric services. No fee will be charged for any referral or scheduled return visits resulting from the initial request until released from care by the responsible health care authority or designee. (After release from care for an injury or illness, subsequent unscheduled, self initiated requests for treatment for the injury or illness may be chargeable.) In addition, the amount of reimbursement of co-payment due shall be two dollars ($2.00) per each new prescription written and dispensed, with the exception of psychotropic medications and medications prescribed for public health reasons. There will be no charge for refills.

(2)

Inmates shall not be charged for the following scheduled services:

a.

Lab work;

b.

X-rays;

c.

Immunizations, tuberculosis testing, Hepatitis B Vaccine, and other treatments instituted by the facility for public health reasons;

d.

EKG's, dressing charges and other treatments ordered by a qualified health care provider;

e.

Prenatal care;

f.

Referral visits to outside agencies;

g.

Work related injuries or illnesses;

h.

When the fee is waived by the Warden or designee;

i.

Social service programs provided by mental health staff, (e.g. substance abuse groups).

(g)

Any inmate who is discharged or transferred to another facility shall remain liable for any reimbursement of co-payment due which is authorized by this section.

(h)

If at any time an inmate's commissary account does not have sufficient funds to reimburse co-payment of the costs of medical, psychiatric or dental services, the account shall carry a negative balance until such time as funds are deposited into that account. When funds become available, the medical, psychiatric or dental reimbursement shall be immediately deducted from the account.

(i)

If an inmate is discharged with a negative balance in the commissary account due to unpaid medical, psychiatric or dental reimbursement of co-payments due and that inmate is subsequently returned to the parish jail, the unpaid balance shall immediately be collected from the new commissary account established upon entry to the correctional facility in accordance with the provisions outlined herein.

(j)

Any inmate who is covered by a private medical, psychiatric, dental or health care insurer or any public medical, psychiatric or dental assistance program, shall file a claim for the payment or reimbursement of any medical, psychiatric or dental services provided while in the parish jail.

(k)

For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:

(1)

Inmate shall mean any person confined to the Cameron Parish Jail.

(2)

Sheriff shall mean the Sheriff of Cameron Parish who is the administrator of the Cameron Parish Jail.

(3)

Commissary account shall mean any account under the control of the Sheriff or Sheriff's department which is created to maintain the inmates own personal funds or those funds provided to the inmate by others from which an inmate may make withdrawals to purchase items from the commissary or for other purposes in accordance with the policy established by the Parish Sheriff.

(Ord. of 7-6-96)

Editor's note

A nonamendatory Ordinance of July 9, 1996, §§ 1—11, has been included herein as section 10-1 at the discretion of the editor.