Texas Attorney General Opinion: JM-866 Page: 2 of 4
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Ms. Barbara Walsh
Honorable James L. Rex
Page 2 (JM-866)
medical care for indigents. A county hospital is a
"public hospital" for purposes of the Indigent Health Care
and Treatment Act. V.T.C.S. art. 4438f, 1.02(10); art.
4478. Therefore, a county hospital is governed by the
provisions applicable to public hospitals rather than the
provisions applicable to counties. See V.T.C.S. art.
4438f, 2.01, 3.01, 10.01, 11.01. See also V.T.C.S. art.
4484; Attorney General Opinion M-379 (1969) (bills and
accounts of county hospital are paid and approved by
commissioners court). The act requires a public hospital
to provide specified services to persons who live within
the area that the public hospital has a legal obligation
to serve. Id. 10.01. Because a county hospital has a
legal obligation to serve the county in which the hospital
is situated, V.T.C.S. art. 4486, it must provide the
services specified in the Indigent Health Care and
Treatment Act to indigent persons who live within the
county.
The services a public hospital is required to provide
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art. 4438f, 11.01, 3.01. The Department of Human
Resources has the authority to promulgate rules more
specifically defining the required services. Id. 1.06.
The act contains the following provisions regarding
provision of services by a public hospital:
Sec. 11.03. (a) A public hospital or
hospital district may arrange to provide
health care services through a local health
department, a publicly owned facility, a
contract with a private provider regardless
of the provider's location, or through the
purchase of insurance for eligible
residents.
(b) A public hospital or hospital district
may affiliate with other public hospitals or
hospital districts or with a governmental
entity to provide regional administration
and delivery of health care services.
I. A public hospital is also required to continue
providing any additional health care services that it
provided to eligible residents during the operating year
that ended before January i, 1985.p. 4200
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Texas. Attorney-General's Office. Texas Attorney General Opinion: JM-866, text, March 2, 1988; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth273304/m1/2/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.