(a) The medical branch may enter into one or more contracts with a county, public hospital, or hospital district to provide treatment to residents of the county or service area, including a contract to provide treatment to residents who are eligible for health care assistance under Chapter 61, Health and Safety Code.
(b) If a contract is entered into under this section, the liability of a county, public hospital, or hospital district under the contract shall take into consideration the actual costs of the medical branch in providing health care services pursuant to the contract, but in no event may the liability of a county, public hospital, or hospital district exceed the medical branch’s costs.

(c) If a contract to provide treatment to an eligible resident of a county or service area is not entered into under this section, the medical branch must receive the approval of the appropriate county, public hospital, or hospital district before providing nonemergency health care services to the resident. If that approval is not received, the county, public hospital, or hospital district is not liable to the medical branch for any nonemergency care provided to the resident. If approval is received, the county, public hospital, or hospital district is liable to the medical branch under Subsection (d) for the services provided by the medical branch to the resident.
(d) The liability of a county, public hospital, or hospital district to the medical branch for the treatment of eligible residents of the county or service area by the medical branch may not exceed the responsibility of a county as provided for in Chapter 61, Health and Safety Code, unless agreed to by the county, public hospital, or hospital district in a contract to provide treatment to those residents that is entered into under this section.
(e) In this section, “eligible resident,” “hospital district,” “public hospital,” and “service area” have the same meanings assigned those terms by Chapter 61, Health and Safety Code.