Purchased and Referred Care Improvement Act of 2024

[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7516 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7516

 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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 1, 2024

Mr. Johnson of South Dakota (for himself, Ms. Schrier, Mrs. Rodgers of 
    Washington, Ms. Leger Fernandez, and Mr. Zinke) introduced the 
    following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural 
Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for 
a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 
                          committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 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 of 2024''.

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 ``or has received purchased/referred care''; 
                and
                    (C) by inserting ``or were'' after ``that are'';
            (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, debt collector, 
                or any other person'' after ``is not liable'';
            (3) in subsection (c), by inserting ``, the 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 out-of-
        pocket for purchased/referred care services authorized by the 
        Service under this Act to be reimbursed by the Service 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 Service facility.''.
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