tient navigators within the health care system to en-
sure optimal patient utilization of these services. 
(3) DATA COLLECTION AND REPORT.—In order 
to allow for effective program evaluation, the grantee 
shall collect specific patient data recording services 
provided to each patient served by the program and 
shall establish and implement procedures and proto-
cols, consistent with applicable Federal and State 
laws (including 45 C.F.R. 160 and 164) to ensure 
the confidentiality of all information shared by a 
participant in the program, or their personal rep-
resentative and their health care providers, group 
health plans, or health insurance insurers with the 
program. The program may, consistent with applica-
ble Federal and State confidentiality laws, collect, 
use or disclose aggregate information that is not in-
dividually identifiable (as defined in 45 C.F.R. 160 
and 164). With this data, the grantee shall submit 
an annual report to the Secretary that summarizes 
and analyzes these data, provides information on 
needs for navigation services, types of access difficul-
ties resolved, sources of repeated resolution and 
flaws in the system of access, including insurance 
barriers.
(4) APPLICATION FOR GRANT.—A grant may be 
made under paragraph (1) only if an application for 
the grant is submitted to the Secretary and the ap-
plication is in such form, is made in such manner, 
and contains such agreements, assurances, and in-
formation as the Secretary determines to be nec-
essary to carry out this section. 
(5) EVALUATIONS.—
(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting 
through the Director of the Indian Health Serv-
ice, shall, directly or through grants or con-
tracts, provide for evaluations to determine 
which outreach activities under paragraph (2) 
were most effective in informing the public and 
the specific community that the program is 
serving of the model program services and to 
determine the extent to which such programs 
were effective in providing culturally competent 
services to the health disparity population 
served by the programs. 
(B) DISSEMINATION
OF
FINDINGS.—The 
Secretary shall as appropriate disseminate to 
public and private entities the findings made in 
evaluations under subparagraph (A).
(6) COORDINATION WITH OTHER PROGRAMS.—
The Secretary shall coordinate the program under 
this subsection with the program under subsection 
(b), with the program under section 417D, and to 
the extent practicable, with programs for prevention 
centers that are carried out by the Director of the 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 
(b) PROGRAM FOR PATIENT NAVIGATORS.—
(1) 
IN
GENERAL.—The 
Secretary, 
acting 
through the Director of the Indian Health Service, 
may make grants to Indian Health Service Centers, 
tribal governments, urban Indian organizations, trib-
al organizations, and qualified nonprofit entities 
demonstrating the ability to perform all of the func-
tions outlined in this subsection and subsections (a) 
and (c) that partner with providers or centers pro-
viding health care serving Native American popu-
lations to provide navigation services, for the devel-
opment and operation of model programs to pay the 
costs of such organizations in—
(A) assigning patient navigators, in accord-
ance with applicable criteria of the Secretary, 
for individuals of health disparity populations 
for the duration of receiving health services 
from the health centers, including aid in coordi-
nating and scheduling appointments and refer-
rals, community outreach, assistance with 
transportation arrangements, and assistance 
with insurance issues and other barriers to care 
and providing information about clinical trials; 
(B) ensuring that the services provided by 
the patient navigators to such individuals in-
clude case management and psychosocial as-
sessment and care or information and referral 
to such services; 
(C) ensuring that patient navigators with 
direct knowledge of the communities they serve 
provide services to such individuals in a cul-
turally competent manner; 
(D) developing model practices for patient 
navigators, including with respect to—
(i) coordination of health services, in-
cluding psychosocial assessment and care; 
(ii) appropriate follow-up care, includ-
ing psychosocial assessment and care; 
(iii) 
determining 
coverage 
under 
health insurance and health plans for all 
services; 
(iv) ensuring the initiation, continu-
ation and/or sustained access to care pre-
scribed by the patients’ health care pro-
viders; and 
(v) aiding patients with health insur-
ance coverage issues; 
(E) requiring training for patient naviga-
tors to ensure the ability of navigators to per-
form all of the duties required in this sub-
section and in subsection (a), including training 
to ensure that navigators are informed about 
health insurance systems and are able to aid 
patients in resolving access issues; and 
(F) ensuring that consumers have direct 
access to patient navigators during regularly 
scheduled hours of business operation. 
(2) OUTREACH SERVICES.—A condition for the 
receipt of a grant under paragraph (1) is that the 
applicant involved agree to provide ongoing outreach 
activities while receiving the grant, in a manner that 
is culturally competent for the health disparity popu-
lation served by the program, to inform the public 
and the specific community that the patient navi-
gator is serving of the services of the model program 
under the grant. 
(3) DATA COLLECTION AND REPORT.—In order 
to allow for effective patient navigator program eval-
uation, the grantee shall collect specific patient data 
recording navigation services provided to each pa-
tient served by the program and shall establish and 
implement procedures and protocols, consistent with 
applicable Federal and State laws (including 45 
C.F.R. 160 and 164) to ensure the confidentiality of 
all information shared by a participant in the pro-
gram, or their personal representative and their 
health care providers, group health plans, or health 
insurance insurers with the program. The patient 
navigator program may, consistent with applicable 
Federal and State confidentiality laws, collect, use or 
disclose aggregate information that is not individ-
ually identifiable (as defined in 45 C.F.R. 160 and 
164). With this data, the grantee shall submit an 
annual report to the Secretary that summarizes and 
analyzes these data, provides information on needs 
for navigation services, types of access difficulties re-
solved, sources of repeated resolution and flaws in 
the system of access, including insurance barriers. 
(4) APPLICATION FOR GRANT.—A grant may be 
made under paragraph (1) only if an application for 
the grant is submitted to the Secretary and the ap-
plication is in such form, is made in such manner, 
and contains such agreements, assurances, and in-