Florida § 394.4789 Establishment of referral process and eligibility determination

Florida Statutes

§ 394.4789 — Establishment of referral process and eligibility determination

Florida § 394.4789

TitleXXIX

Ch. 394MENTAL HEALTH

This text of Florida § 394.4789 (Establishment of referral process and eligibility determination) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook

Fla. Stat. § 394.4789 (2026).

Text

(1)It is the intent of the Legislature that a hospital which seeks payment under s. 394.4788 shall accept referrals from the department. However, a hospital shall have the right to refuse the admission of a patient due to lack of functional bed space or lack of services appropriate to a patient’s specific treatment and no hospital shall be required to accept referrals if the costs for treating the referred patient are no longer reimbursable because the hospital has reached the level of contribution made to the PMATF in the previous fiscal year. Furthermore, a hospital that does not seek compensation for indigent mentally ill patients under the provisions of this act shall not be obliged to accept department referrals, notwithstanding any agreements it may have entered into with the depart

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(1) It is the intent of the Legislature that a hospital which seeks payment under s. 394.4788 shall accept referrals from the department. However, a hospital shall have the right to refuse the admission of a patient due to lack of functional bed space or lack of services appropriate to a patient’s specific treatment and no hospital shall be required to accept referrals if the costs for treating the referred patient are no longer reimbursable because the hospital has reached the level of contribution made to the PMATF in the previous fiscal year. Furthermore, a hospital that does not seek compensation for indigent mentally ill patients under the provisions of this act shall not be obliged to accept department referrals, notwithstanding any agreements it may have entered into with the department. The right of refusal in this subsection shall not affect a hospital’s requirement to provide emergency care pursuant to s. 395.1041 or other statutory requirements related to the provision of emergency care.

(2) The department shall adopt a patient eligibility form and shall be responsible for eligibility determination. However, the department may contract with participating psychiatric hospitals for eligibility determination. The eligibility form shall provide the mechanism for determining a patient’s eligibility according to the requirements of s. 394.4788(1). (a) A specialty psychiatric hospital shall be eligible for reimbursement only when an eligibility form has been completed for each indigent mentally ill person for whom reimbursement is sought. (b) As part of eligibility determination, every effort shall be made by the hospital to determine if any third party insurance coverage is available.