1.This Act may be cited as the
Rural, American Indian Veterans Health
Care Improvement Act of 2009
.
2.Improvement of
care of American Indian veterans
(a)Indian Health
Coordinators
(1)Subchapter II of chapter 73 of title 38, United States
Code is amended by adding at the end the following new section:
7330B.Indian
Veterans Health Care Coordinators
(a)(1)The Secretary shall
assign at each of the 10 Department Medical Centers that serve communities with
the greatest number of Indian veterans per capita an official or employee of
the Department to act as the coordinator of health care for Indian veterans at
such Medical Center. The official or employee so assigned at a Department
Medical Center shall be known as the Indian Veterans Health Care
Coordinator
for the Medical Center.
(2)The Secretary shall, from time to
time—
(A)survey the Department Medical Centers
for purposes of identifying the 10 Department Medical Centers that currently
serve communities with the greatest number of Indian veterans per capita;
and
(B)utilizing the results of the most
recent survey conducted under subparagraph (A), revise the assignment of Indian
Veterans Health Care Coordinators in order to assure the assignment of such
coordinators to appropriate Department Medical Centers as required by paragraph
(1).
(b)The
duties of a Indian Veterans Health Care Coordinator shall include the
following:
(1)Improving outreach
to tribal communities.
(2)Coordinating the
medical needs of Indian veterans on Indian reservations with the Veterans
Health Administration and the Indian Health Service.
(3)Expanding the
access and participation of Department of Veterans Affairs, Indian Health
Service, and tribal members in the Department of Veterans Affairs Tribal
Veterans Representative program.
(4)Acting as an
ombudsman for Indian veterans enrolled in the health care system of the
Veterans Health Administration.
(5)Advocating for the
incorporation of traditional medicine and healing in Department treatment plans
for Indian veterans in need of care and services provided by the
Department.
(c)In this section, the term Indian has the
meaning given the term in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and
Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C.
450b).
.
(2)The table of sections at the beginning of
chapter 73 of such title is further by inserting after the item relating to
section 7330A the following new item:
7330B. Indian
Veterans Health
Coordinators.
.
(b)Integration of
electronic health records with Indian Health ServiceNot later
than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of
Veterans Affairs and Secretary of the Interior shall enter into a memorandum of
understanding to ensure that the health records of Indian veterans may be
transferred electronically between facilities of the Indian Health Service and
the Department of Veterans Affairs.
(c)Transfer of
medical equipment to the Indian Health Service
(1)The Secretary of Veterans Affairs may transfer to the
Indian Health Service such surplus Department of Veterans Affairs medical and
information technology equipment as the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and the
Secretary of Health and Human Services jointly consider appropriate for
purposes of the Indian Health Service.
(2)Transportation
and installationIn transferring medical or information
technology equipment under this subsection, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs
may transport and install such equipment in facilities of the Indian Health
Service.
(d)Report on Joint
Health Clinics With Indian Health ServiceNot later than one year
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs
and the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall jointly submit to Congress
a report on the feasability and advisability of the joint establishment and
operation by the Veterans Health Administration and the Indian Health Service
of health clinics on Indian reservations to serve the populations of such
reservations, including Indian veterans.