(a) The department may:
(1) return a nonresident patient admitted to a public health hospital to the proper agency of the state of the patient's residence; and
(2) permit the return of a resident of this state who has been admitted to a tuberculosis hospital in another state.
(b) The state that is returning a patient shall pay the expenses of the return.
(c) The department may enter into reciprocal agreements with the proper agencies of other states to facilitate the return to the states of their residence of nonresident patients admitted to tuberculosis hospitals in other states.