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The county executive, with the advice of the county health officer, is hereby authorized at any time and from time to time to negotiate and contract with any hospital accredited by the American Hospital Association and the American College of Surgeons for the care in such hospitals of indigent and medically indigent residents of the county who are certified by the county welfare board as eligible for payment of cost of care by the county, pursuant to rule 900 of the manual of the state department of public welfare. (Mont. Co. Code 1965, § 89-56; 1970 L.M.C., ch. 25, § 1; 1972 L.M.C., ch. 16, § 13.)
Under contracts as authorized by the preceding section, the rate of payment per patient day to be paid by the county to any hospital, receiving state aid under the hospital in-patient program of the state health department, shall be established at a computed rate of twenty (20) percent of the average patient day cost to the hospital for care as such cost is computed anddetermined by audit procedures approved by the state department of health; provided, that the liability of the county for cost of care shall not exceed the above twenty (20) percent of such patient day cost whether or not the hospital is paid by the state or other source for the remaining eighty (80) percent of care cost. (Mont. Co. Code 1965, § 89-57.)
The rate per patient day to be paid by the county under contract to any hospital not eligible for the state aid program shall not exceed the hospital's audited cost per patient day for the last succeeding audit year; provided, that in no event shall payment by the county to such contract hospital exceed thirty-eight dollars and fifty cents ($38.50) per patient day. (Mont. Co. Code 1965, § 89-58.)
The county is further authorized from time to time to pay cost of care or residents of the county eligible under section 25-58 at hospitals with which the county does not have a contract for care, for emergency admissions, for treatment not obtainable at a contract hospital or for other necessary reasons; provided, that such payment shall not exceed the hospital's audited cost per patient day; provided further, that such payment shall in no event be more than seventeen dollars ($17.00) per patient day. (Mont. Co. Code 1965, § 89-59; 1970 L.M.C., ch. 25, § 2.)
The rate of payment to be made by the county to any hospital or clinic for out-patient visits for county eligible patients certified in accordance with section 25-58 shall not exceed the actual cost to the hospital or clinic of such visit, as determined by a method of accounting approved by the state department of health for computation of such costs, or sixty dollars ($60.00) per visit, whichever is less; such payment to include all medical, surgical, laboratory, X-ray, drug and other costs and charges of every kind and description. If the cost of such visit is paid in part by the state, or any other governmental or charitable agency or other source, the county shall in no event pay more than the difference between the other payment and the actual cost or six dollars ($6.00), whichever is less. (Mont. Co. Code 1965, § 89-60.)