{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://dustyjohnson.house.gov/media/press-releases/johnson-introduces-bills-reform-ihs-protect-native-americans-credit", "Johnson Introduces Bills to Reform IHS, Protect Native Americans\u2019 Credit", "2024-03-01", "2024", "2024-03", "Republican", "House", "SD", "Dusty Johnson", "J000301", "dustyjohnson.house.gov", "dustyjohnson", "https://dustyjohnson.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "Washington, D.C. \u2013 U.S. Representative Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) and Rep. Kim Schrier (D-WA) introduced two bills to hold the Indian Health Service (IHS) accountable for disregarding health care bills owed to providers and to protect Native Americans\u2019 credit from wrongfully charged medical bills owed by IHS through Purchased/Referred Care claims.\n\n\u201cMany know the frustration when debt is sent to collections, especially when the bill isn\u2019t ours to pay,\u201d said Johnson. \u201cIHS often falls short in its obligation to pay medical bills from Purchased/Referred Care in a timely manner and Native Americans are often forced to pay the bills they don\u2019t owe, or else risk taking substantial hits to their credit, hindering their ability to get a loan, buy a home, and more. My bills seek to rectify this unfair negligence by IHS.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe damage caused by these unpaid, unprocessed claims can be devastating for members of our tribal communities - the outstanding debt and impact on their credit score are incredibly harmful to their financial future,\u201d said Schrier. \"I'm proud to introduce bipartisan legislation to make commonsense, much-needed reforms to ensure tribal citizens can receive the care they need without fear of undue financial burdens.\"\n\n\u201cFor decades, the Colville Tribes and its members have endured severe obstacles to accessing critical health care due to the Indian Health Service\u2019s management of the Purchased/Referred Care program. On the Colville Reservation, these management deficiencies have resulted in tribal members having their credit negatively impacted because of unpaid medical bills, fewer health providers, and even deaths. The Purchased and Referred Care Improvement Act will strengthen and clarify the Service\u2019s obligations to inform health providers that tribal members should not be pursued for medical bills that the Service is legally obligated to pay. The Protecting Native Americans\u2019 Credit Act will help those tribal members who have already been sent to collection agencies by deleting that information from their credit reports. The Colville Tribes is grateful for the introduction of these bills and looks forward to both being enacted into law,\u201d said Jarred-Michael Erickson, Chairman of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation.\n\nThe Purchased and Referred Care Improvement Act of 2024 would:\n\nEnsure that IHS \u2013 not the tribal citizen \u2013 is liable for payments for PRC services that are or were authorized by IHS.\n\nDirects the Secretary to notify PRC providers and patients that the patients are not liable to any provider or debt collector for charges associated with authorized PRC services.\n\nPermits IHS to establish and implement procedures to allow patients that paid out-of-pocket for IHS-authorized PRC services to be reimbursed by IHS no later than 30 days after a patient submits the necessary documentation.\n\nView Purchased and Referred Care Improvement Act bill text here.\n\nThe Protecting Native Americans\u2019 Credit Act of 2024 would:\n\nExcludes medical debt attributable to IHS-authorized PRC services received at a non-IHS facility from a Native American\u2019s Consumer Report.\n\nProvides Native Americans with a dispute process for inclusion of debt for authorized medical services rendered on a consumer report.\n\nRequires HHS to send a notice to the individual that HHS has assumed liability for part of or all of the medical debt.\n\nDirects reporting agencies to delete all information related to medical debt from file and notify furnisher and consumer of deletion upon receiving required documentation of HHS\u2019s liability of debt.\n\nView Protecting Native Americans\u2019 Credit Act bill text here.\n\nAdditional cosponsors of both bills include Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), Teresa Leger Fernandez (D-N.M.), Ryan Zinke (R-MT), and Dan Newhouse (R-WA).\n\nBackground:\n\nCertain tribes are \u201cdirect service\u201d tribes, meaning their citizens receive healthcare directly from the Indian Health Service (IHS). These individuals will often require care that is outside the capacity of the IHS facility where they receive care. In that case, IHS can utilize the Purchased/Referred Care (PRC) program to acquire specialty or different care for an eligible individual through non-IHS providers.\n\nHowever, IHS\u2019s management of the PRC program has resulted in negative impacts for many Native Americans. A Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) report from April 2020 found that an estimated 658,025 of 802,470 IHS PRC claims for 2019 were not reviewed, approved, or paid in accordance with federal law. Current law requires IHS to pay a completed claim for PRC services within 30 days after completion of the claim. This HHS OIG report found an estimated 32,099 claims were not paid within that time frame.\n\nThe Indian Heath Care Improvement Act (IHCIA) states that no patient should be liable for PRC services received that were authorized by IHS. However, as PRC bills go unpaid by IHS, tribal citizens are left to bear the brunt of these costs.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-07T20:32:04Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://dustyjohnson.house.gov/media/press-releases/johnson-introduces-bills-reform-ihs-protect-native-americans-credit"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.3956650402396917, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}