§1680c — Title 25 Indians | U.S. Code

Summary

Lets certain people who normally would not get care from the Indian Health Service (IHS) receive IHS health services. Children under 19 who are the natural, adopted, step, foster child, legal ward, or orphan of an eligible Indian may get care if they are not eligible another way. Spouses of eligible Indians who are not Indians, or who are of Indian descent but not otherwise eligible, can be made eligible as a whole group if the tribe’s governing body passes a resolution to do so. A federal official in charge of the Service can also provide care to non‑eligible people in a Service area if the tribes ask for it and agree it will not reduce care for eligible Indians. Tribes running services under the Indian Self‑Determination and Education Assistance Act can decide the same for their own programs. If a tribe revokes its agreement, the authority ends at the end of the fiscal year following the revocation, or ends when at least 51 percent of tribes in a multi‑tribal area revoke. People who get care this way must pay charges set to at least cover the Service’s actual cost. Money collected, including Medicare, Medicaid, or children’s health insurance program payments under titles XVIII, XIX, and XXI of the Social Security Act, goes back to the program account and may be spent as allowed under section 1641(d)(2). An indigent person may get care only if a State or local government agrees to reimburse the Service. The Service may also treat non‑eligible people in emergencies, to stop spreading disease, to care for non‑Indian women pregnant with an eligible Indian’s child through postpartum, or to treat immediate family when their care is directly tied to treating the eligible person. Non‑Service practitioners who are given hospital privileges to treat these patients can, for those acts while providing care, be treated as federal employees for Federal Tort Claims Act purposes. Defined terms: eligible Indian — an Indian who already qualifies for IHS care; non‑Service health care practitioner — a provider who is not an employee of the Service or of a tribe’s IHS contract/compact program.

Title 25, §1680c

Indians — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Any individual who—

(1)has not attained 19 years of age;

(2)is the natural or adopted child, stepchild, foster child, legal ward, or orphan of an eligible Indian; and

(3)is not otherwise eligible for health services provided by the Service,

(b)Any spouse of an eligible Indian who is not an Indian, or who is of Indian descent but is not otherwise eligible for the health services provided by the Service, shall be eligible for such health services if all such spouses or spouses who are married to members of each Indian tribe being served are made eligible, as a class, by an appropriate resolution of the governing body of the Indian tribe or tribal organization providing such services. The health needs of persons made eligible under this paragraph shall not be taken into consideration by the Service in determining the need for, or allocation of, its health resources.

(c)(1)The Secretary is authorized to provide health services under this subsection through health facilities operated directly by the Service to individuals who reside within the Service unit and who are not otherwise eligible for such health services if—

(A)the Indian tribes served by such Service unit requests such provision of health services to such individuals, and

(B)the Secretary and the served Indian tribes have jointly determined that the provision of such health services will not result in a denial or diminution of health services to eligible Indians.

(2)In the case of health facilities operated under a contract or compact entered into under the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450 et seq.),11 See References in Text note below. the governing body of the Indian tribe or tribal organization providing health services under such contract or compact is authorized to determine whether health services should be provided under such contract or compact to individuals who are not eligible for such health services under any other subsection of this section or under any other provision of law. In making such determinations, the governing body of the Indian tribe or tribal organization shall take into account the consideration described in paragraph (1)(B). Any services provided by the Indian tribe or tribal organization pursuant to a determination made under this subparagraph shall be deemed to be provided under the agreement entered into by the Indian tribe or tribal organization under the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act. The provisions of section 314 of Public Law 101–512 (104 Stat. 1959), as amended by section 308 of Public Law 103–138 (107 Stat. 1416), shall apply to any services provided by the Indian tribe or tribal organization pursuant to a determination made under this subparagraph.

(3)(A)Persons receiving health services provided by the Service under this subsection shall be liable for payment of such health services under a schedule of charges prescribed by the Secretary which, in the judgment of the Secretary, results in reimbursement in an amount not less than the actual cost of providing the health services. Notwithstanding section 1621f of this title or any other provision of law, amounts collected under this subsection, including Medicare, Medicaid, or children’s health insurance program reimbursements under titles XVIII, XIX, and XXI of the Social Security Act [42 U.S.C. 1395 et seq., 1396 et seq., 1397aa et seq.], shall be credited to the account of the program providing the service and shall be used for the purposes listed in section 1641(d)(2) of this title and amounts collected under this subsection shall be available for expenditure within such program.

(B)Health services may be provided by the Secretary through the Service under this subsection to an indigent individual who would not be otherwise eligible for such health services but for the provisions of paragraph (1) only if an agreement has been entered into with a State or local government under which the State or local government agrees to reimburse the Service for the expenses incurred by the Service in providing such health services to such indigent individual.

(4)(A)In the case of a Service Area which serves only 1 Indian tribe, the authority of the Secretary to provide health services under paragraph (1) shall terminate at the end of the fiscal year succeeding the fiscal year in which the governing body of the Indian tribe revokes its concurrence to the provision of such health services.

(B)In the case of a multitribal Service Area, the authority of the Secretary to provide health services under paragraph (1) shall terminate at the end of the fiscal year succeeding the fiscal year in which at least 51 percent of the number of Indian tribes in the Service Area revoke their concurrence to the provisions of such health services.

(d)The Service may provide health services under this subsection to individuals who are not eligible for health services provided by the Service under any other provision of law in order to—

(1)achieve stability in a medical emergency;

(2)prevent the spread of a communicable disease or otherwise deal with a public health hazard;

(3)provide care to non-Indian women pregnant with an eligible Indian’s child for the duration of the pregnancy through postpartum; or

(4)provide care to immediate family members of an eligible individual if such care is directly related to the treatment of the eligible individual.

(e)(1)Hospital privileges in health facilities operated and maintained by the Service or operated under a contract or compact pursuant to the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450 et seq.) 1 may be extended to non-Service health care practitioners who provide services to individuals described in subsection (a), (b), (c), or (d). Such non-Service health care practitioners may, as part of the privileging process, be designated as employees of the Federal Government for purposes of section 1346(b) and chapter 171 of title 28 (relating to Federal tort claims) only with respect to acts or omissions which occur in the course of providing services to eligible individuals as a part of the conditions under which such hospital privileges are extended.

(2)For purposes of this subsection, the term “non-Service health care practitioner” means a practitioner who is not—

(A)an employee of the Service; or

(B)an employee of an Indian tribe or tribal organization operating a contract or compact under the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450 et seq.) 1 or an individual who provides health care services pursuant to a personal services contract with such Indian tribe or tribal organization.

(f)For purposes of this section, the term “eligible Indian” means any Indian who is eligible for health services provided by the Service without regard to the provisions of this section.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

The Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450 et seq.), referred to in subsecs. (c)(2) and (e), is Pub. L. 93–638, Jan. 4, 1975, 88 Stat. 2203, which was classified principally to subchapter II (§ 450 et seq.) of chapter 14 of this title prior to editorial reclassification as chapter 46 (§ 5301 et seq.) of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see

Short Title

note set out under section 5301 of this title and Tables. section 314 of Public Law 101–512, referred to in subsec. (c)(2), is set out as a note under section 5321 of this title. The Social Security Act, referred to in subsec. (c)(3)(A), is act Aug. 14, 1935, ch. 531, 49 Stat. 620. Titles XVIII, XIX, and XXI of the Act are classified generally to subchapters XVIII (§ 1395 et seq.), XIX (§ 1396 et seq.), and XXI (§ 1397aa et seq.), respectively, of chapter 7 of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see section 1305 of Title 42 and Tables. Codification Amendment by Pub. L. 111–148 is based on section 194 of title I of S. 1790, One Hundred Eleventh Congress, as reported by the Committee on Indian Affairs of the Senate in Dec. 2009, which was enacted into law by section 10221(a) of Pub. L. 111–148.

Amendments

2010—Pub. L. 111–148 amended section generally. Prior to amendment, section related to health services for ineligible persons and consisted of subsecs. (a) to (e). 1992—Subsec. (b)(2)(A). Pub. L. 102–573, § 902(8), substituted “section 1642(a) of this title” for “section 402(c) of this Act”.

§1680c Health Services for Ineligible Persons