HEALTTH Act
Latest action · Dec 20, 2016 Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Ways and Means. H. Rept. 114-882, Part I.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedJun 8, 2016
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Helping Ensure Accountability, Leadership, and Trust in Tribal Healthcare Act or the HEALTTH Act
TITLE I -- EXPANDING AUTHORITIES AND IMPROVING ACESS TO CARE
(Sec. 101) This bill amends the Indian Health Care Improvement Act by requiring the Indian Health Service (IHS) to implement a seven-year pilot program for testing the use of long-term contracts of at least five years for the operation of rural IHS hospitals with governance structures that include tribal input. The IHS must: (1) install a governing board at each participating hospital for overseeing the local operation of the hospital, and (2) consult with the primary Indian tribes served by the hospital when installing the boards. The boards must be comprised of representatives from the IHS, the hospital, primary Indian tribes served by the hospital, and experts in health care administration and delivery.
Hospitals may modify or terminate existing contracts so that they can enter into long-term contracts under the pilot program.
The IHS must report on the program results for each year of the pilot program.
(Sec. 102) The bill expands the IHS' hiring authority by allowing it to offer more benefits to recruit employees.
(Sec. 103) The bill allows the IHS to remove or demote an employee for performance or misconduct.
(Sec. 104) The IHS must: (1) establish standards to measure the timeliness of health care services in IHS facilities, and (2) develop a process for those facilities to report data to the IHS with respect to those standards.
TITLE II--INDIAN HEALTH SERVICE RECRUITMENT AND WORKFORCE
(Sec. 201) The bill amends the Internal Revenue Code by excluding from gross income payments under the IHS loan repayment program.
(Sec. 202) The bill expands the repayment program by allowing loan repayment awards for: (1) health care management, health care administration, or hospital administration professions; and (2) individuals who work part time if they serve for at least four years.
(Sec. 203) The IHS must implement mandatory training programs for cultural competency for individuals who work at IHS facilities and whose employment requires regular direct patient access.
(Sec. 204) The IHS must offer relocation reimbursement to employees who relocate to serve in a different capacity or position if the position is: (1) in a rural area or medically underserved area and has not been filled by a full-time noncontractor for at least six months, or (2) for hospital management or administration.
(Sec. 205) The bill allows the IHS to waive the requirements of Indian preference laws for positions at an IHS facility if it has a vacancy rate of at least 20%. The IHS may also waive those laws in the case of an applicant who is a former IHS employee or formal tribal employee and who was removed from employment or demoted for misconduct in the last five years.
(Sec. 206) The IHS must centralize its credentials system for licensed health professionals who seek to volunteer at IHS facilities.
TITLE III--PURCHASED/REFERRED CARE PROGRAM REFORMS
(Sec. 301) The bill establishes requirements for capping payments to certain non-IHS or non-tribal health care providers and suppliers.
(Sec. 302) The IHS must implement within three years a new revised distribution formula for the Purchased/Referred Care program, which was formerly referred to as the contract health services program.
(Sec. 303) The IHS must also implement a system to prioritize any backlog of unpaid balances under the program for each IHS area.
(Sec. 304) The Government Accountability Office must report on issues related to the financial stability of IHS' hospitals and facilities that have experienced sanction or threat of sanction by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
Cosponsors 7
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Jun 8, 2016 to Dec 8, 2016; 5 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| R-NE | Adrian Smith | Original | Jun 8, 2016 |
| D-MN | Betty McCollum | Original | Jun 8, 2016 |
| D-NE | Brad Ashford | Original | Jun 8, 2016 |
| R-NE | Jeff Fortenberry | Original | Jun 8, 2016 |
| R-ND | Kevin Cramer | Original | Jun 8, 2016 |
| R-OK | Tom Cole | Jun 14, 2016 | |
| R-WA | Cathy McMorris Rodgers | Dec 8, 2016 |
Committees 3
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Natural Resources Committee | Referred Jun 8, 2016 |
| Indian and Insular Affairs Subcommittee | Referred Jun 13, 2016Hearings Jul 12, 2016 | |
| House | Energy and Commerce Committee | Referred Jun 8, 2016 |
| House | Ways and Means Committee | Referred Jun 8, 2016Markup Sep 21, 2016Reported Dec 20, 2016 |
| Health Subcommittee | Referred Jun 16, 2016 |
Actions 8
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Dec 20, 2016Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Ways and Means. H. Rept. 114-882, Part I.
- Sep 21, 2016Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
- Sep 21, 2016Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by Voice Vote.
- Jul 12, 2016Subcommittee Hearings Held.
- Jun 16, 2016Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
- Jun 13, 2016Referred to the Subcommittee on Indian, Insular and Alaska Native Affairs.
- Jun 8, 2016Introduced in House
- Jun 8, 2016Referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committees on Energy and Commerce, and Ways and Means, 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.
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Committee report
Constitutional authority
The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the Congressional Record, vol. 162, no. 90, June 8, 2016, page H3564.
Printed hearings 2
Hearings whose printed record names this bill, newest first: hearings on it, and wider hearings where it came up.
| Number | Hearing | Committee | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Serial No. 114-50 | LEGISLATIVE HEARING ON H.R. 5406, TO AMEND THE INDIAN HEALTH CARE IMPROVEMENT ACT TO IMPROVE ACCESS TO TRIBAL HEALTH CARE BY PROVIDING FOR SYSTEMIC INDIAN HEALTH SERVICE WORKFORCE AND FUNDING ALLOCATION REFORMS, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES, "HELPING ENSURE ACCOUNTABILITY, LEADERSHIP, AND TRUST IN TRIBAL HEALTHCARE ACT," OR "HEALTTH ACT"78 pages | Natural Resources Committee | Jul 12, 2016 |
| S. Hrg. 114-522 | IMPROVING ACCOUNTABILITY AND QUALITY OF CARE AT THE INDIAN HEALTH SERVICE THROUGH S. 2953106 pages | Indian Affairs Committee | Jun 17, 2016 |
Titles 5
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To amend the Indian Health Care Improvement Act to improve access to tribal health care by providing for systemic Indian Health Service workforce and funding allocation reforms, and for other purposes.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- HEALTTH Act
- Helping Ensure Accountability, Leadership, and Trust in Tribal Healthcare Act
- Short Titles as Reported to House
- HEALTTH Act
- Helping Ensure Accountability, Leadership, and Trust in Tribal Healthcare Act
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Native Americans.
- Congressional oversight
- Department of Health and Human Services
- Employee performance
- Employment discrimination and employee rights
- Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management
- Government ethics and transparency, public corruption
- Government lending and loan guarantees
- Government studies and investigations
- Health care costs and insurance
- Health care coverage and access
- Health care quality
- Health facilities and institutions
- Health information and medical records
- Health personnel
- Health programs administration and funding
- Income tax exclusion
- Indian social and development programs
- Licensing and registrations
- Medical education
- Medicare
- Minority health
- Native Americans
- Rural conditions and development
- Social work, volunteer service, charitable organizations
- Student aid and college costs
- Transportation costs
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Jun 8, 2016Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
