The Agency Director or designated representative, and the Director of Revenue and Recovery, or designated representative, are hereby authorized to defer billing, or compromise and settle an account when investigation reveals that neither the patient nor the patient's responsible relatives or representative can pay for or otherwise secure the care, or the means for paying for the care, which the patient requires. In making this determination the Agency Director or the Director of Revenue and Recovery will give consideration to:
1. In mental health cases, the State mandated “Uniform Method of Determining ability to Pay.”
2. In non-mental health cases:
(a) The nature of the patient's illness, the probable duration of disability, its effect on the patient's future income production and the probable cost of private care.
(b) The family assets and obligations, their accustomed standard of living and the amount of indebtedness which they can be expected to assimilate.
Further, the Agency Director or the Director of Revenue and Recovery may compromise and settle an account whenever the Agency Director and the County Counsel agree that actual or potential legal problems arising from the treatment of a case, or collection of an account, indicate such action to be to the best interest of the County.
(Added by Ord. No. 8835 (N.S.), effective 11-6-97; amended by Ord. No. 9475 (N.S.), effective 7-18-02; amended by Ord. No. 9558 (N.S.), effective 6-20-03; amended by Ord. No. 10477 (N.S.), effective 5-25-17; amended by Ord. No. 10532 (N.S.), effective 5-24-18; amended by Ord. No. 10600 (N.S.), effective 5-30-19)