Medical Debts of Tribal Members

Floor Speech

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Ms. SCHRIER. Madam Speaker, I rise today to encourage the House to take up and pass my bill, the Purchased and Referred Care Improvement Act.

This bill works to correct an all-too-common occurrence, which is that Tribal members are referred to collection agencies because the Indian Health Service failed to pay its bills.

Sometimes Tribal members utilizing the Indian Health Service will be referred to an outside specialist or another provider, and this is what is known as purchased and referred care. IHS is still responsible for the payment of this care but all too often fails to follow through on that obligation. These unpaid bills often lead to Tribal members paying those themselves and being saddled with medical debt that they should never have incurred in the first place.

Chairman Jarred Erickson and members of the Colville Tribe came and visited my office. We talked about this, and they brought it to my attention. Colville Tribal members have been hounded by debt collection agencies for bills that the Indian Health Service failed to pay.

This bill would ensure that this never happens again and that Tribal members will not be burdened with IHS' debts or saddled with medical debt. I thank Chairman Erickson and the Colville Tribe for their advocacy, and I encourage the House to pass this bill.

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