HB655 Alabama 2012 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Jack Williams

Republican

Session

Regular Session 2012

Title

Jefferson County, Indigent health care, distribution, Act 387, 1965 Reg. Sess., am'd

Summary

HB655 would expand Jefferson County's Indigent Care Fund uses, add paternity collection steps for indigent care, and set aside capital-improvement funding until the county hospital is built.

What This Bill Does

It expands the uses of the Indigent Care Fund to build and operate a county hospital and clinics, provide drugs and outpatient care to indigent residents, and cover part of their medical costs. It authorizes funding from the fund for low-income programs including sewer assistance, public transportation, and housing. It adds procedures for prenatal care registration and collecting from fathers through the Circuit Solicitor, with annual reporting and a three-year limit on collection efforts, and requires at least 25% of the fund to be set aside for capital improvements until the hospital is constructed and fully equipped.

Who It Affects

• Indigent residents of Jefferson County would gain expanded access to hospital/clinic care, drugs, and emergency services funded by the Indigent Care Fund, with partial cost coverage where applicable.
• Low-income Jefferson County residents eligible for county-funded programs (sewer assistance, public transportation, housing) and pregnant women, where paternity and support collection processes are outlined, affecting care costs and how support is pursued.

Key Provisions

• Expands the purposes of the Indigent Care Fund to acquire, operate, equip, and maintain a county hospital, clinics, and emergency clinic, and to provide drugs, medicines, and outpatient care for indigent residents.
• Authorizes funding from the Indigent Care Fund for low-income programs including sewer assistance, public transportation, and housing, for county residents.
• Allows collection of sums from part-pay patients and other sources to benefit the Indigent Care Fund, and adds prenatal care registration and paternity/non-support collection steps with a three-year limit on collection efforts.
• Requires annual setting aside of at least 25% of the Indigent Care Fund for capital improvements until the county hospital is constructed and fully equipped.
• Provides severability, repeals conflicting laws, and establishes the act's effective date (first day of the third month after passage and governor approval).

AI-generated summary using openai/gpt-5-nano on Feb 24, 2026. May contain errors — refer to the official bill text for accuracy.

Subjects

Jefferson County