Liability of certain relatives and estate of client for payment of costs; recovery by legal action.
1. When a person is admitted to a division facility or hospital under one of the various forms of admission prescribed by law, the parent or legal guardian of a mentally ill person who is a minor or the husband or wife of a mentally ill person, if of sufficient ability, and the estate of the mentally ill person, if the estate is sufficient for the purpose, shall pay the cost of the mentally ill person’s maintenance, including treatment and surgical operations, in any hospital in which the person is hospitalized under the provisions of this chapter:
(a) To the administrative officer if the person is admitted to a division facility; or
(b) In all other cases, to the hospital rendering the service.
2. If a person or an estate liable for the care, maintenance and support of a committed person neglects or refuses to pay the administrative officer or the hospital rendering the service, the State is entitled to recover, by appropriate legal action, all money owed to a division facility or which the State has paid to a hospital for the care of a committed person, plus interest at the rate established pursuant to NRS 99.040.
Last modified: February 27, 2006