[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 494 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 494

   To combat the overutilization of prison health care services and 
               control rising prisoner health care costs.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 20, 1997

    Mr. Kyl (for himself, Mr. Abraham, and Mr. Reid) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                             the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To combat the overutilization of prison health care services and 
               control rising prisoner health care costs.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Federal Prisoner Health Care 
Copayment Act''.

SEC. 2. PRISONER COPAYMENTS FOR HEALTH CARE SERVICES.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 303 of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 4048. Prisoner copayments for health care services
    ``(a) Definitions.--In this section--
            ``(1) the term `account' means the trust fund account (or 
        institutional equivalent) of a prisoner;
            ``(2) the term `Director' means the Director of the Bureau 
        of Prisons;
            ``(3) the term `health care provider' means any person who 
        is licensed or certified under State law to provide health care 
        services and who is operating within the scope of such license;
            ``(4) the term `health care visit' means any visit by a 
        prisoner to an institutional or noninstitutional health care 
        provider, if the visit is made at the request of the prisoner;
            ``(5) the term `prisoner' means any person subject to 
        incarceration, detention, or admission to any facility who is 
        accused of, convicted of, sentenced for, or adjudicated 
        delinquent for, violations of criminal law or the terms and 
        conditions of parole, probation, pretrial release, or 
        diversionary program; and
            ``(6) the term `qualified health care visit' means any 
        health care visit except a health care visit
                    ``(A) that--
                            ``(i) is conducted during the incarceration 
                        intake process;
                            ``(ii) is an annual examination;
                            ``(iii) is determined by the health care 
                        provider to be an emergency visit;
                            ``(iv) is an immunization;
                            ``(v) is initiated by the health care staff 
                        of the Bureau of Prisons; or
                            ``(vi) is the direct result of a referral 
                        made by a prison official; or
                    ``(B) by a prisoner who is--
                            ``(i) less than 18 years of age;
                            ``(ii) pregnant; or
                            ``(iii) determined by the appropriate 
                        official of the Bureau of Prisons to be 
                        seriously mentally ill or permanently disabled.
    ``(b) Copayments For Health Care Services.--The Director shall 
assess and collect a fee in accordance with this section--
            ``(1) in an amount equal to not less than $3 and not more 
        than $5, for each qualified health care visit;
            ``(2) in an amount not to exceed $5, which shall be 
        established by the Director by regulation, for--
                    ``(A) each prescription medication provided to the 
                prisoner by a health care provider; and
                    ``(B) each health care visit described in 
                subparagraph (A)(iii) or (B)(i) of subsection (a)(6); 
                and
            ``(3) in an amount established by the Director by 
        regulation, for each health care visit occurring as a result of 
        an injury inflicted on a prisoner by another prisoner.
    ``(c) Responsibility for Payment.--Each fee assessed under 
subsection (b) shall be collected by the Director from the account of--
            ``(1) the prisoner making the health care visit or 
        receiving the prescription medication; or
            ``(2) in the case of a health care visit described in 
        subsection (b)(3), the prisoner who is determined by the 
        Director to have inflicted the injury.
    ``(d) Timing.--Each fee assessed under this section shall be 
collected from the appropriate account under subsection (c)--
            ``(1) on the date on which the qualified health care visit 
        occurs; or
            ``(2) in the case of a prisoner whose account balance is 
        determined by the Director to be insufficient for collection of 
        the fee in accordance with paragraph (1), in accordance with an 
        installment payment plan, which shall be established by the 
        Director by regulation.
    ``(e) No Refusal of Treatment for Financial Reasons.--Nothing in 
this section shall be construed to permit any refusal of treatment to a 
prisoner on the basis that--
            ``(1) account of the prisoner is insolvent; or
            ``(2) the prisoner is otherwise unable to pay a fee 
        assessed under this section in accordance with subsection 
        (d)(1).
    ``(f) Use of Amounts.--Any amounts collected by the Director under 
this section shall be deposited in the Crime Victims' Fund established 
under section 1402 of the Victims of Crime Act of 1984 (42 U.S.C. 
10601).
    ``(g) Reports to Congress.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
enactment of the Federal Prisoner Health Care Copayment Act and 
annually thereafter, the Director shall submit to Congress a report, 
which shall include--
            ``(1) a description of the amounts collected under this 
        section during the preceding 12-month period; and
            ``(2) an analysis of the effects of the implementation of 
        this section, if any, on the nature and extent of health care 
        visits by prisoners.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The chapter analysis for chapter 303 of 
title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 
following:

``4048. Prisoner copayments for health care services.''.
                                 <all>