Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center, Inc. v. Board of County Commissioners

190 P.3d 870, 146 Idaho 51, 2008 Ida. LEXIS 117
CourtIdaho Supreme Court
DecidedJune 16, 2008
Docket34233
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 190 P.3d 870 (Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center, Inc. v. Board of County Commissioners) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Idaho Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center, Inc. v. Board of County Commissioners, 190 P.3d 870, 146 Idaho 51, 2008 Ida. LEXIS 117 (Idaho 2008).

Opinions

BURDICK, Justice.

Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center (SARMC) appeals from a district court order affirming the decision of the Ada County Board of Commissioners (the Board) denying medical indigency benefits for Javier Ortega Sandoval. We reverse and remand.

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

While working for Eagle Landscape Contractors on March 22, 2006, Javier Ortega Sandoval (Sandoval), an undocumented immigrant, suffered a stroke. He was taken to SARMC, hospitalized for nearly two months, and incurred medical bills in excess of $187,000. Sandoval was unable to pay the hospital bills, and his son, Francisco Pacheco Sandoval (Francisco), applied for medical indigency assistance from Ada County while Sandoval was still hospitalized.

The application indicated that Sandoval came to Boise from Mexico in 2005. Ada County began investigating the application. During an interview, Francisco told the clerk that Sandoval came to Boise to work and that he was an undocumented immigrant. The Board initially denied the application because it concluded that Sandoval could not be a resident of Idaho as he was an illegal immigrant.1 SARMC then appealed the initial determination.

The Board held a hearing on August 16, 2006. However, additional information was still needed to complete the record, so a second hearing was held on September 6, 2006. Sandoval and Francisco testified at that hearing. After taking the matter under advisement, the Board affirmed its initial determination. SARMC appealed to the district court, which affirmed the Board’s decision. SARMC now appeals to this Court.

II. STANDARD OF REVIEW

“The denial of an application for indigency benefits is reviewed under the Administrative Procedure Act.” Bonner Gen. [53]*53Hosp. v. Bonner Co., 133 Idaho 7, 9, 981 P.2d 242, 244 (1999). We may not substitute our judgment for that of the administrative agency on questions of fact. Id.

When the agency was required ... to issue an order, the court shall affirm the agency action unless the court finds that the agency’s findings, inferences, conclusions, or decisions are: (a) in violation of constitutional or statutory provisions; (b) in excess of the statutory authority of the agency; (c) made upon unlawful procedure; (d) not supported by substantial evidence on the record as a whole; or (e) arbitrary, capricious, or an abuse of discretion.

I.C. § 67-5279(3).

The Board’s decision is analogous to an agency’s decision. See E. Regl. Med. Ctr. v. Ada Co. Bd. of Commrs., 139 Idaho 882, 884, 88 P.3d 701, 703 (2004). “This Court independently reviews the agency’s decision. We give serious consideration to the district court’s decision, but review the matter as if the ease were directly appealed from the agency.” Bonner Gen. Hosp., 133 Idaho at 9, 981 P.2d at 244. Determining the meaning of a statute is a matter of law. E. Regl. Med. Ctr., 139 Idaho at 884, 88 P.3d at 703.

III. ANALYSIS

The parties present a single legal issue for the Court’s review: whether Sandoval is a resident of Ada County for the purpose of medical indigency benefits. We will first address that issue and then turn to the parties’ claims for fees and costs under I.C. § 12-117.

A. Sandoval is a resident for purposes of I.C. § 31-3502(12).

SARMC argues that the Board’s decision violated pertinent statutory provisions because the Board incorrectly determined that as a matter of law Sandoval, an illegal immigrant, could never form the requisite intent to be a resident since he would always be subject to deportation, and because the Board incorrectly equated domicile with residency. We agree. By examining Sandoval’s immigration status, the Board incorrectly applied an objective standard of intent not found in Idaho law; moreover, the Board incorrectly used domicile as the standard to determine eligibility for indigency benefits when our statute requires only residency.

Idaho’s medical indigency statutes, Title 31, chapter 35 of the Idaho Code (the Act) provides that the county of residency for the: indigent person shall be obligated to pay for medical services. I.C. § 31-3506. The Act also provides a standard to determine residency. I.C. § 31-3502(12); E. Idaho Regl. Med. Ctr., 139 Idaho at 884, 88 P.3d at 703. The Act defines a resident as:

a person with a home, house, place of abode, place of habitation, dwelling or place where he or she actually lived for a consecutive period of thirty (30) days or more within the state of Idaho. A resident does not include a person who comes into this state for temporary purposes, including, but not limited to, education, vacation, or seasonal labor____

Idaho Code § 31-3502(12). This statute requires both a physical presence in Idaho and “implicitly creates an intent element.” E. Idaho Regl. Med. Ctr., 139 Idaho at 884, 88 P.3d at 703. Thus, for purposes of medical indigency, to be a resident of Idaho a person must have (1) been present in Idaho for at least thirty days and (2) have a.present, subjective intent to reside in Idaho “either permanently, or at least longer than temporarily.” See id.

Here, the parties agree that Sandoval met the first element of I.C. § 31-3502(12) as he had been in Idaho for longer than' thirty days. The question, then, is whether he had the necessary subjective intent to be a resident of this state.

When examining whether Sandoval was a resident of Ada County, the Board found that Sandoval was an illegal immigrant who had come to Idaho in May 2005. The Board then concluded that Sandoval is not a resident of Ada County because he

is a resident of Mexico with no proof of legal status to remain in the United States, his presence in the United States and Ada County must be found to be temporary [54]*54since he is subject to deportation pursuant to the Immigration and Nationality Act, infra United States Code Title 8. While the provider may be required by federal law to treat the applicant, it is only after all the requirements of Idaho Code Title 31 Chapter 35 are satisfied, including residency, that a county is obligated to pay. Further, [Francisco] stated that Javier Ortega Sandoval came to the United States for work purposes. He is subject to deportation, and such purposes are therefore, temporary.

We reverse the Board’s decision. First, Sandoval’s status as an undocumented alien does not affect the determination of whether he is a resident of Ada County. The concept of residency does not distinguish between citizens and those who have entered this country illegally. Intermountain Health Care, Inc. v. Bd. of Commrs. of Blaine Co., 109 Idaho 412, 415, 707 P.2d 1051, 1054 (1985) (Donaldson, C.J., concurring). All that is required to be a resident under I.C.

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190 P.3d 870, 146 Idaho 51, 2008 Ida. LEXIS 117, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/saint-alphonsus-regional-medical-center-inc-v-board-of-county-idaho-2008.