§ 56-2107 — RESPONSIBILITY FOR COSTS OF PROTECTIVE CUSTODY AND CARE OF PATIENTS

(1) As used in this section:
(a) "Protective custody period" means a period that begins when a person is taken into custody pursuant to sections 56-2104 and 56-2105, Idaho Code, and ends when the patient is released from protective custody.
(b) "Routine medical care" includes care provided during the protective custody period that includes hospital costs, including routine board, room, and support services.
(c) "Third-party applicant" means a person other than a patient who completes, signs, and files an application for medicaid on behalf of the patient. A third-party applicant may be an adult who is a member of the patient’s family or household, the patient’s authorized representative, or, if the patient is incapacitated, someone, including an agent of a facility, who is acting responsibly for the patient.
(2) In instances where the person placed in protective custody is released with no underlying medical conditions in addition to the person’s neurocognitive disorder having been identified, costs associated with the protective custody shall be the responsibility of the person placed in protective custody, subject to the department of health and welfare’s determination of the person’s ability to pay all or any part of such costs. The department shall:
(a) Determine costs pursuant to section 39-3140, Idaho Code;
(b) Inquire to determine if the person has insurance, including medical assistance provided under the state plan for medicaid as authorized by title XIX of the social security act, as amended; and
(c) Report its findings to the court.
(3) The court may order a person to pay costs consistent with this section.
(4) To the extent possible, the costs of routine medical care incurred during protective custody shall be assigned to a person’s health insurance, including medical assistance provided under the state plan for medicaid as authorized by title XIX of the social security act, as amended. If a person may be eligible for medicaid but has not applied, a third-party applicant, including an agent at a hospital where a person is taken into custody or detained under this chapter, may submit a medicaid application to the department of health and welfare. The medical care provided while the person is in protective custody shall be presumed to be medically necessary for purposes of determining reimbursement for that care by third-party payers.
(5) Remaining costs for routine medical care shall be apportioned as follows:
(a) The department of health and welfare shall pay providers at the rate established by medicaid or its managed care organization. If, based on the department of health and welfare’s determination under subsection (2) of this section, the person is able to pay a portion of the medical costs, the person shall reimburse the department consistent with the department’s determination of costs pursuant to section 39-3140, Idaho Code; or
(b) Costs for routine medical care during the protective placement period shall be paid by the department of health and welfare, consistent with the process described in paragraph (a) of this subsection.

Legislative History

[(56-2107) 56-1907, added 2024, ch. 264, sec. 1, p. 922; am. and redesig. 2025, ch. 110, sec. 14, p. 582.]