Payment of hospitalization charges shall not be a necessary requirement for voluntary admission: PROVIDED, HOWEVER, The department may request payment of hospitalization charges, or any portion thereof, from the patient or relatives of the patient within the following classifications: Spouse, parents, or children. Where the patient or relatives within the above classifications refuse to make the payments requested, the department shall have the right to discharge such patient or initiate proceedings for involuntary hospitalization. The maximum charge shall be the same for voluntary and involuntary hospitalization.
[ 1959 c 28 § 72.23.120. Prior: 1951 c 139 § 16. Formerly RCW 71.02.080.]

Terms Used In Washington Code 72.23.120

  • Department: means the department of social and health services. See Washington Code 72.23.010
  • Patient: means a person under observation, care, or treatment in a state hospital, or a person found mentally ill by the court, and not discharged from a state hospital, or other facility, to which such person had been ordered hospitalized. See Washington Code 72.23.010