Ala. Code § 22-21-217
In the event that there is no hospital located in a county and the county commission of such county certifies to the State Board of Health that it does desire to participate in the Hospital Service Program for Indigents, in the manner provided for in this article, the admissions committee of such county may approve the admittance of any indigent of the county to a participating hospital in any other county, and in such cases, the county commission of the county in which such indigent resides shall pay to the hospital to which the indigent is admitted such charges for indigent hospitalization as such hospital would have been entitled to receive had the indigent been a resident of the county in which the hospital is located.
Ala. Code § 22-21-217 (1975)