Section 147.397 - Payment of costs; form; provider reimbursement; rules(1) Subject to the availability of funds from gifts, grants and donations in the Sexual Assault Victims' Emergency Medical Response Fund, the Department of Justice shall pay the costs of: (a) A complete medical assessment obtained by the victim of a sexual assault if the victim obtains the medical assessment no later than 84 hours after the sexual assault.(b) A partial medical assessment obtained by the victim of a sexual assault if the victim obtains the medical assessment no later than seven days after the sexual assault.(2) The department may not deny payment under this section for any of the following reasons: (a) The victim of a sexual assault has not reported the assault to a law enforcement agency.(b) The identity of a victim of a sexual assault is not readily available to the department because forensic evidence has been collected from the victim and preserved in a manner intended to protect the victim's identity.(3) The department shall develop a form that the victim of a sexual assault must complete if the victim wants the department to pay for a medical assessment as provided in subsection (1) of this section. The department shall make copies of the form available to providers of medical assessments. The form must inform the victim that: (a) A complete or partial medical assessment can be obtained regardless of whether the victim reports the assault to a law enforcement agency; and(b) A complete or partial medical assessment can be performed and evidence collected in a manner intended to protect the victim's identity.(4) When the victim of a sexual assault completes the form developed by the department under subsection (3) of this section, the victim shall submit the form to the provider of the medical assessment. The provider shall submit the form with a bill for the medical assessment to the department. A provider who submits a bill under this subsection may not bill the victim or the victim's insurance carrier for the medical assessment except to the extent that the department is unable to pay the bill due to lack of funds or declines to pay the bill.(5) Providers of medical assessments that seek reimbursement under this section shall: (a) Maintain records of medical assessments that protect the identity of victims of sexual assault and keep confidential the identity of victims who have not reported the sexual assault to a law enforcement agency;(b) Store sexual assault forensic evidence kits and transfer custody of the kits to a law enforcement agency having jurisdiction over the geographic area where the provider is located; and(c) Cooperate with law enforcement agencies to develop and implement procedures that protect the identities of victims while allowing retrieval and assessment of sexual assault forensic evidence kits and related evidence.(6) Law enforcement agencies that receive evidence as provided by subsection (5) of this section shall preserve: (a) A sexual assault forensic evidence kit for no less than 60 years after collection of the evidence; and(b) Any related evidence for at least six months.(7) A provider may not charge the department more for a complete medical assessment or a partial medical assessment than the maximum amounts established by the department by rule for the assessments.(8) The victim of a sexual assault may obtain a medical assessment and complete and submit a form under this section regardless of whether the victim reports the sexual assault to a law enforcement agency.(9) This section does not require the department to pay any costs of treatment for injuries resulting from the sexual assault.(10) The department shall create, and make available to medical assessment providers, informational materials describing the services payable by the fund as described in subsection (1) of this section. A provider shall ensure that the informational materials are made available to sexual assault victims.(11) The department may adopt rules necessary to carry out the provisions of this section.Amended by 2018 Ch. 120,§ 2, eff. 4/13/2018. 2003 c. 789, § 2; 2007 c. 268, § 2