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[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3797 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>

118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3797

 To amend the Indian Health Care Improvement Act to address liability 
for payment of charges or costs associated with provision of purchased/
            referred care services, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           February 12, 2024

Mr. Rounds (for himself, Ms. Cantwell, Mr. Thune, Mr. Hoeven, and Mrs. 
    Murray) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
              referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
 To amend the Indian Health Care Improvement Act to address liability 
for payment of charges or costs associated with provision of purchased/
            referred care services, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Purchased and Referred Care 
Improvement Act''.

SEC. 2. CHANGES TO LIABILITY FOR PAYMENT.

    Section 222 of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act (25 U.S.C. 
1621u) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) by striking ``A patient'' and inserting 
                ``Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a 
                patient'';
                    (B) by striking ``contract health care'' and 
                inserting ``purchased/referred care''; and
                    (C) by inserting ``to any provider, third party 
                debt collector, or any other person'' after ``shall not 
                be liable'';
            (2) in subsection (b)--
                    (A) by striking ``contract care'' each place it 
                appears and inserting ``purchased/referred care'';
                    (B) by striking ``contract health care'' and 
                inserting ``purchased/referred care'';
                    (C) by inserting ``, notwithstanding any other 
                provision of law,'' after ``by the Service that''; and
                    (D) by inserting ``to any provider, third party 
                debt collector, or any other person'' after ``is not 
                liable'';
            (3) in subsection (c), by inserting ``, the third party 
        debt collector, or any other person, as applicable'' after 
        ``the provider''; and
            (4) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(d) Reimbursement.--
            ``(1) In general.--Not later than 120 days after the date 
        of enactment of this subsection, the Service shall establish 
        and implement procedures to allow a patient that paid directly 
        for purchased/referred care services authorized by the Service 
        under this Act to be reimbursed by the purchased/referred care 
        program for that payment not later than 30 days after the 
        patient submits documentation to the Service pursuant to 
        paragraph (2).
            ``(2) Submitting documentation.--The Service shall accept 
        documentation from a patient seeking reimbursement under 
        paragraph (1) that was submitted--
                    ``(A) electronically; or
                    ``(B) in-person at a Indian health program.''.
                                 <all>
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