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Bills / S. 699

S. 699

Purchased and Referred Care Improvement Act of 2025

Latest action: 2026-02-04: Committee on Indian Affairs. Hearings held.Bill on Congress.gov ↗

In plain English

Purchased and Referred Care Improvement Act of 2025 This bill specifies that the Indian Health Service (IHS) must reimburse patients for their out-of-pocket costs for authorized purchased/referred care services within 30 days. (The IHS provides medical and dental services directly to American Indian and Alaska Native patients whenever possible. However, when services are not available, IHS beneficiaries may be referred to private providers. This is called purchased/referred care.) Specifically, the bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish and implement procedures to allow a patient who paid out of pocket for purchased/referred care services authorized by the IHS to be reimbursed by the IHS for that payment no later than 30 days after the patient submits required documentation.  Additionally, the bill requires HHS to update applicable provisions of and exhibits to the Indian Health Manual, contracts with providers, and other relevant documents and administrative authorities to incorporate the provisions of the bill. The bill also replaces statutory references to contract health service with purchased/referred care .

Congressional Research Service summary from Congress.gov (not yet simplified).

Sponsor and status

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How South Carolina voted

No recorded roll-call vote on this bill yet. Most bills never get one.

Who lobbied

Lobbying reports name the bills a client worked on. They don't say which side anyone took.

No lobbying reported on this bill in the reports we have loaded (January 2025 through September 2026). Lobbyists report each quarter, about 20 days after it ends, so any lobbying since October 2026 will be added once those reports are filed.