Bill > S3797

This bill, the Purchased and Referred Care Improvement Act, amends the Indian Health Care Improvement Act to address liability for payment of charges or costs associated with the provision of purchased/referred care services. The key provisions are: (1) patients are not liable for any purchased/referred care services authorized by the Indian Health Service (IHS), regardless of any other law, and cannot be held liable to any provider, debt collector, or other person; (2) the IHS is not liable for any purchased/referred care services it authorizes, regardless of any other law, and cannot be held liable to any provider, debt collector, or other person; (3) the bill requires the IHS to establish procedures to allow patients who paid directly for IHS-authorized purchased/referred care services to be reimbursed within 30 days of submitting proper documentation.