I 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4006 
To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for Indian veterans health 
care coordinators, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
NOVEMBER 3, 2009 
Mrs. KIRKPATRICK of Arizona introduced the following bill; which was 
referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 
A BILL 
To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for Indian 
veterans health care coordinators, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Rural, American In-
dian Veterans Health Care Improvement Act of 2009’’. 
SEC. 2. IMPROVEMENT OF CARE OF AMERICAN INDIAN 
VETERANS. 
(a) INDIAN HEALTH COORDINATORS.— 
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(1) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter II of chapter 73 
of title 38, United States Code is amended by add-
ing at the end the following new section: 
‘‘§ 7330B. Indian Veterans Health Care Coordinators 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—(1) The Secretary shall assign 
at each of the 10 Department Medical Centers that serve 
communities with the greatest number of Indian veterans 
per capita an official or employee of the Department to 
act as the coordinator of health care for Indian veterans 
at such Medical Center. The official or employee so as-
signed at a Department Medical Center shall be known 
as the ‘Indian Veterans Health Care Coordinator’ for the 
Medical Center. 
‘‘(2) The Secretary shall, from time to time— 
‘‘(A) survey the Department Medical Centers 
for purposes of identifying the 10 Department Med-
ical Centers that currently serve communities with 
the greatest number of Indian veterans per capita; 
and 
‘‘(B) utilizing the results of the most recent 
survey conducted under subparagraph (A), revise the 
assignment of Indian Veterans Health Care Coordi-
nators in order to assure the assignment of such co-
ordinators to appropriate Department Medical Cen-
ters as required by paragraph (1). 
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‘‘(b) DUTIES.—The duties of a Indian Veterans 
Health Care Coordinator shall include the following: 
‘‘(1) Improving outreach to tribal communities. 
‘‘(2) Coordinating the medical needs of Indian 
veterans on Indian reservations with the Veterans 
Health Administration and the Indian Health Serv-
ice. 
‘‘(3) Expanding the access and participation of 
Department of Veterans Affairs, Indian Health 
Service, and tribal members in the Department of 
Veterans Affairs Tribal Veterans Representative pro-
gram. 
‘‘(4) Acting as an ombudsman for Indian vet-
erans enrolled in the health care system of the Vet-
erans Health Administration. 
‘‘(5) Advocating for the incorporation of tradi-
tional medicine and healing in Department treat-
ment plans for Indian veterans in need of care and 
services provided by the Department. 
‘‘(c) INDIAN DEFINED.—In this section, the term ‘In-
dian’ has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the 
Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act 
(25 U.S.C. 450b).’’. 
(2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec-
tions at the beginning of chapter 73 of such title is 
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