25 U.S.C. § 1621 Indian Health Care Improvement Fund

• Library: United States Statutes
• Edition: 2023
• Currency: Current through P.L. 118-34 (published on www.congress.gov on 12/26/2023), except for [P. L. 118-31]
• Year: 2023
• Citation: 25 U.S.C. § 1621

(a) Use of funds

The Secretary, acting through the Service, is authorized to expend funds, directly or under the authority of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act ( 25 U.S.C. 450 et seq.),¹ which are appropriated under the authority of this section, for the purposes of-

(1) eliminating the deficiencies in health status and health resources of all Indian tribes;

(2) eliminating backlogs in the provision of health care services to Indians;

(3) meeting the health needs of Indians in an efficient and equitable manner, including the use of telehealth and telemedicine when appropriate;

(4) eliminating inequities in funding for both direct care and contract health service programs; and

(5) augmenting the ability of the Service to meet the following health service responsibilities with respect to those Indian tribes with the highest levels of health status deficiencies and resource deficiencies:

(A) Clinical care, including inpatient care, outpatient care (including audiology, clinical eye, and vision care), primary care, secondary and tertiary care, and long-term care.

(B) Preventive health, including mammography and other cancer screening.

(C) Dental care.

(D) Mental health, including community mental health services, inpatient mental health services, dormitory mental health services, therapeutic and residential treatment centers, and training of traditional health care practitioners.

(E) Emergency medical services.

(F) Treatment and control of, and rehabilitative care related to, alcoholism and drug abuse (including fetal alcohol syndrome) among Indians.

(G) Injury prevention programs, including data collection and evaluation, demonstration projects, training, and capacity building.

(H) Home health care.

(I) Community health representatives.

(J) Maintenance and improvement.

(b) No offset or limitation

Any funds appropriated under the authority of this section shall not be used to offset or limit any other appropriations made to the Service under this chapter or section 13 of this title, or any other provision of law.

(c) Allocation; use

(1) In general

Funds appropriated under the authority of this section shall be allocated to Service units, Indian tribes, or tribal organizations. The funds allocated to each Indian tribe, tribal organization, or Service unit under this paragraph shall be used by the Indian tribe, tribal organization, or Service unit under this paragraph to improve the health status and reduce the resource deficiency of each Indian tribe served by such Service unit, Indian tribe, or tribal organization.

(2) Apportionment of allocated funds

The apportionment of funds allocated to a Service unit, Indian tribe, or tribal organization under paragraph (1) among the health service responsibilities described in subsection (a)(5) shall be determined by the Service in consultation with, and with the active participation of, the affected Indian tribes and tribal organizations.

(d) Provisions relating to health status and resource deficiencies

For the purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:

(1) Definition

The term "health status and resource deficiency" means the extent to which-

(A) the health status objectives set forth in sections 1602(1) and 1602(2) of this title are not being achieved; and

(B) the Indian tribe or tribal organization does not have available to it the health resources it needs, taking into account the actual cost of providing health care services given local geographic, climatic, rural, or other circumstances.