{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-441.045","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 441.045","heading":"Rules for jails -- Inspection by county judge/executive -- Medical, dental,","body":"and psychological care for prisoners -- Funds not to lapse -- Fee for use of jail\nmedical facilities by state prisoner -- Payments to counties not to exceed\nMedicaid rate -- Transportation of prisoners for health care -- Responsibility\nfor health care expenses.\n(1) The county governing body shall prescribe rules for the government, security,\nsafety, and cleanliness of the jail and the comfort and treatment of prisoners,\nprovided such rules are consistent with state law. The county judge/executive may\ninspect the jail at any reasonable time.\n(2) Willful violation of the rules promulgated pursuant to subsection (1) of this section\nshall be deemed a violation.\n(3) Except as provided in subsections (4) and (5) of this section, the cost of providing\nnecessary medical, dental, and psychological care for indigent prisoners in the jail\nshall be paid from the jail budget.\n(4) The cost of providing necessary medical, dental, or psyc hological care for prisoners\nof the United States government shall be paid as provided by contract between the\nUnited States government and the county or as may otherwise be provided by\nfederal law.\n(5) (a) The cost of providing necessary medical, dental, or psychological care,\nbeyond routine care and diagnostic services, for prisoners held pursuant to a\ncontractual agreement with the state shall be paid as provided by contract\nbetween the state and county. The costs of necessary medical, dental, or\npsychological care, beyond routine care and diagnostic services, of prisoners\nheld in the jail for which the county receives a per diem payment shall be paid\nby the state.\n(b) To the extent that federal law allows and federal financial participation is\navailable, for the limited purpose of implementing this section, the jail, the\ndepartment, or the department's designee is authorized to act on behalf of an\ninmate for purposes of applying for Medicaid eligibility.\n(6) The cost of providing necessary medical, dental , or psychological care for prisoners\nheld pursuant to a contractual agreement with another county or a city shall be paid\nas provided by contract between the county or city and county.\n(7) (a) When the cost of necessary medical, dental, or psychological c are for a\nprisoner exceeds one thousand dollars ($1,000), as calculated by using the\nmaximum allowable costs to similar persons or facilities for the same or\nsimilar services under the Kentucky Medical Assistance Program, the state\nshall reimburse the coun ty for that portion of the costs that exceeds one\nthousand dollars ($1,000). The reimbursement shall be subject to the\nfollowing terms and conditions:\n1. The care is necessary as defined in subsection (10) of this section;\n2. The prisoner is indigent as de fined in subsection (8) of this section, or is\nuninsured; and\n3. No state reimbursement to the county for care provided by physicians,\nhospitals, laboratories, or other health care providers shall exceed the\nmaximum payments allowed to similar persons or f acilities for the same\nor similar services under the Kentucky Medical Assistance Program,\nexcept as provided in subsection (11) of this section.\n(b) A county may assign its ability to receive payment from the state under this\nsubsection to the person providing the medical, dental, or psychological care\nto the prisoner, which assignment shall be accepted by the provider for the\npurposes of submitting billing directly to the state. The state shall pay or deny\na claim submitted to it within ninety (90) days of receiving the claim. The\ncounty shall include with the assignment the information required by\nsubsection (8) of this section necessary to qualify the prisoner as indigent. The\nprovider shall bill for any other public or private health benefit plan or health\ninsurance benefits available to the prisoner prior to billing the state under this\nsubsection, and shall bill the state prior to billing the count y. The county shall\nretain ultimate payment responsibility as established under subsection (3) of\nthis section, and the provider may bill the county for payment after the\nexpiration of ninety (90) days from the date the provider submitted the claim\nto the state for payment if the claim remains unpaid at that time.\n(8) (a) The determination of whether a prisoner is indigent shall be made pursuant to\nKRS 31.120, and may be evidenced by the affidavit of indigency required by\nthat statute or the appointment of a public defender under that statute. The\nprisoner shall not be considered indigent, in the case of prisoner medical care,\nif:\n1. The prisoner has funds on his or her inmate account to cover all or a\nportion of his or her medical expenses;\n2. The prisoner' s medical expenses are covered on a medical insurance\npolicy; or\n3. The prisoner has the private resources to pay for the use of the medical\nfacilities.\n(b) Prisoners who are later determined not to have been indigent, or who at a time\nfollowing treatment are no longer indigent, shall be required to repay the costs\nof payments made pursuant to this section to the unit of government which\nmade the payment.\n(9) The terms and conditions relating to any determination of nonindigency and\ndemands for repayment sh all be under the same terms and conditions as are\nprovided under KRS Chapters 31 and 431 relating to similar circumstances in the\nprogram for defense of indigents by the public advocate.\n(10) For the purposes of this section, \"necessary care\" means care of a nonelective nature\nthat cannot be postponed until after the period of confinement without hazard to the\nlife or health of the prisoner.\n(11) Any money appropriated for a given fiscal year to fund the state's obligation under\nsubsection (7) of this secti on which remains unspent at the end of the year shall not\nlapse but shall be made available to satisfy, to the maximum extent possible, that\nportion of each catastrophic claim made during said year above the threshold\namount for which the county did not re ceive state assistance pursuant to subsection\n(7) of this section. In the event there is an insufficient surplus to satisfy said balance\nof all such catastrophic claims which are made during that year, the state shall pay\nto those qualified counties, on a per claim basis, an amount equal to each claim's\npercentage of the total surplus. Should the surplus be sufficient to satisfy all such\ncatastrophic claims, the amount remaining, if any, shall not lapse but shall be\ncarried forward to the next fiscal year t o be made available for future catastrophic\nclaims.\n(12) Notwithstanding other provisions of this section to the contrary, a jail may impose a\nreasonable fee for the use of jail medical facilities by a prisoner who has the ability\nto pay for the medical care. These funds may be deducted from the prisoner's inmate\naccount. A prisoner shall not be denied medical treatment because he or she has\ninsufficient funds on his or her inmate account. This subsection shall not preclude\nother recovery of funds as provided in this section.\n(13) (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section to the contrary, a jail may\nimpose a reasonable fee for the use of jail medical facilities by a state prisoner\nwho has been placed in a jail pursuant to a contract with the De partment of\nCorrections under KRS 532.100 or other statute, and who has the ability to\npay for medical care.\n(b) Funds may be deducted from the state prisoner's inmate account at the jail.\n(c) A state prisoner shall not be denied medical treatment because he or she has\ninsufficient funds in his or her inmate account.\n(d) This subsection shall not preclude other recovery of funds as provided in this\nsection.\n(e) This subsection does not authorize recovery of funds from a prisoner for\nmedical care which has b een paid or reimbursed by the state pursuant to this\nsection.\n(14) Except as provided in subsection (4) of this section, all payments for necessary\nmedical, dental, or psychological care for jail, regional jail, or holdover prisoners\nshall be made at a rat e not to exceed the Medicaid rate for the same or similar\nservices, which shall be paid within thirty (30) days under the provisions of KRS\n65.140 of receiving a claim from the health facility or provider for the item or\nservice. This subsection shall not obligate the Medicaid program to pay for services\nprovided to a prisoner.\n(15) (a) A peace officer or correctional officer having custody of a person shall not\nrelease the person from custody so that the person may receive treatment from\na health care faci lity or health care provider, except pursuant to an order\nissued by a court of competent jurisdiction which specifically names the\nperson to receive treatment.\n(b) A peace officer or correctional officer having custody of a person may take the\nperson to a health care facility or health care provider for the purpose of\nreceiving treatment if a correctional officer remains with the person during the\ntime the person is on the premises of the health care facility or health care\nprovider, unless the facility or provider consents to the absence of the officer.\n(c) A county, urban -county, consolidated local government, charter county,\nunified local government, jail, regional jail, holdover, local detention center,\nor other local correctional facility shall not be r esponsible for paying for the\nmedical or other health care costs of a person who is released by a court of\ncompetent jurisdiction, except where the release is for the purpose of\nreceiving medical or other health care services as evidenced by an order\nrequiring the person to return to custody upon completion of treatment.\n(d) When a county, urban -county, consolidated local government, charter county,\nunified local government, jail, regional jail, holdover, local detention center,\nor other local correctional facility is responsible for paying for medical or\nother health care costs under paragraph (c) of this subsection, payment shall\nbe made only at the Medicaid rate for same or similar services.\n(e) For the purposes of this subsection, \"correctional officer\" includes a:\n1. Jailer or deputy jailer;\n2. Director or other person in charge of a local detention center, local\ncorrectional facility, or regional jail; and\n3. Correctional officer employed by a local detention center, local\ncorrectional facility, or regional jail.","path":["KRS Chapter 441"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=49963","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:59:55Z","sha256":"b9c9d5abab99d82f5ab2baa7cf62cc3c73151d6c7fbea3edbd1a0845b29cd30c","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-441.040","next":"us-ky/krs-441.046"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}