Political Quotes

“Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, H.R. 4153, the Health Care Access for Urban Native Veterans Act, will ensure that Native American veterans have equal access to healthcare, regardless of their location of residence, by expanding Department of Veterans Affairs, VA, funding to include urban Indian health centers. The Indian Health Service acts as the primary Federal agency responsible for providing healthcare to federally recognized Indian and Alaska Native communities. Currently, there are three types of facilities that make up the IHS system: Federally-operated facilities, tribally-operated facilities, and urban Indian organization-operated, UIO, facilities. As opposed to the federally-operated and tribally-operated facilities, which are often located in remote areas, UIO facilities have been established in larger cities in order to accommodate the large populations of tribal members located in urban areas. By law, a Native veteran is eligible to receive services under both the VA and IHS and can choose which one to use at any given time. Section 405 of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act, or IHCIA, authorizes the VA to reimburse federally-operated and tribally-operated IHS facilities for any services that they provide to eligible Native veterans.…”