U.S. Code > Title 25 Indians > CHAPTER 18—INDIAN HEALTH CARE (§§ 1601—1683) > SUBCHAPTER II—HEALTH SERVICES (§§ 1621—1622) > § 1621a. Catastrophic Health Emergency Fund

§ 1621a. Catastrophic Health Emergency Fund

(a) Establishment; administration; purpose
(1) There is hereby established an Indian Catastrophic Health Emergency Fund (hereafter in this section referred to as the “Fund”) consisting of—
(A) the amounts deposited under subsection (d) of this section, and
(B) the amounts appropriated to the Fund under this section.
(2) The Fund shall be administered by the Secretary, acting through the central office of the Service, solely for the purpose of meeting the extraordinary medical costs associated with the treatment of victims of disasters or catastrophic illnesses who are within the responsibility of the Service.
(3) The Fund shall not be allocated, apportioned, or delegated on a service unit, area office, or any other basis.
(4) No part of the Fund or its administration shall be subject to contract or grant under any law, including the Indian Self-Determination Act [25 U.S.C. 450f et seq.].
(b) Regulations; procedures for payment
The Secretary shall, through the promulgation of regulations consistent with the provisions of this section—
(1) establish a definition of disasters and catastrophic illnesses for which the cost of treatment provided under contract would qualify for payment from the Fund;
(2) provide that a service unit shall not be eligible for reimbursement for the cost of treatment from the Fund until its cost of treating any victim of such catastrophic illness or disaster has reached a certain threshold cost which the Secretary shall establish at—
(A) for 1993, not less than $15,000 or not more than $25,000; and
(B) for any subsequent year, not less than the threshold cost of the previous year increased by the percentage increase in the medical care expenditure category of the consumer price index for all urban consumers (United States city average) for the 12-month period ending with December of the previous year;
(3) establish a procedure for the reimbursement of the portion of the costs incurred by—
(A) service units or facilities of the Service, or
(B) whenever otherwise authorized by the Service, non-Service facilities or providers,
in rendering treatment that exceeds such threshold cost;
(4) establish a procedure for payment from the Fund in cases in which the exigencies of the medical circumstances warrant treatment prior to the authorization of such treatment by the Service; and
(5) establish a procedure that will ensure that no payment shall be made from the Fund to any provider of treatment to the extent that such provider is eligible to receive payment for the treatment from any other Federal, State, local, or private source of reimbursement for which the patient is eligible.
(c) Effect on other appropriations
Amounts appropriated to the Fund under this section shall not be used to offset or limit appropriations made to the Service under authority of section 13 of this title or any other law.
(d) Reimbursements to Fund
There shall be deposited into the Fund all reimbursements to which the Service is entitled from any Federal, State, local, or private source (including third party insurance) by reason of treatment rendered to any victim of a disaster or catastrophic illness the cost of which was paid from the Fund.