Sec. 61.023.  GENERAL ELIGIBILITY PROVISIONS.  (a)  A person is eligible for assistance under this subchapter if:
(1)  the person does not reside in the service area of a public hospital or hospital district; 
(2)  the person meets the basic income and resources requirements established by the department under Sections 61.006 and 61.008 and in effect when the assistance is requested;  and
(3)  no other adequate source of payment exists.
(b)  A county may use a less restrictive standard of eligibility for residents than prescribed by Subsection (a).  A county may credit toward eligibility for state assistance under this subchapter the services provided to each person who is an eligible resident under a standard that incorporates a net income eligibility level that is less than 50 percent of the federal poverty level based on the federal Office of Management and Budget poverty index.
(c)  A county may contract with the department to perform eligibility determination services.
(d)  Not later than the beginning of a state fiscal year, the county shall adopt the eligibility standards it will use during that fiscal year and shall make a reasonable effort to notify the public of the standards.  The county may change the eligibility standards to make them more or less restrictive than the preceding standards, but the standards may not be more restrictive than the standards established by the department under Section 61.006.
Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.  Amended by Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 1100, Sec. 5.10(a), eff. Sept. 1, 1989;  Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 1377, Sec. 1.06, eff. Sept. 1, 1999.