[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 24 (Wednesday, February 10, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1429-S1430]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. MURKOWSKI (for himself, Mr. Lott, Mr. Baucus, Mr. Inhofe, 
        Mr. Cochran, Mr. Campbell, and Mr. Inouye):
  S. 406. A bill to amend the Indian Health Care Improvement Act to 
make permanent the demonstration program that allows for direct billing 
of medicare, medicaid, and other third party payors, and to expand the 
eligibility under such program to other tribes and tribal 
organizations.


   alaska native and american indian direct reimbursement act of 1999

 Mr. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, today I rise on behalf of myself 
and the Majority Leader Mr. Lott, Senator Baucus, Senator Cochran, 
Senator Inhofe, Senator Campbell, and Senator Inouye, to introduce 
legislation to permanently authorize and expand the Medicare and 
Medicaid direct collections demonstration program under section 405 of 
the Indian Health Care Improvement Act.
  This Act will end much of the red tape and bureauracy for IHS 
facilities involved with Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement, and will 
mean more Medicaid and Medicare dollars to Native health facilities to 
use for improving health care.
  Our bill will allow Native hospitals to collect Medicare and Medicaid 
fund directly from the Health Care Financing Administration instead of 
having to go through the maze of regulations mandated by IHS.
  This bill is an expansion of a current demonstration project that 
includes Bristol Bay Health Corporation of Dillingham, Alaska: the 
Southeast Alaska Regional Health Corporation of Sitka, Alaska; the 
Mississippi Choctaw Health Center of Philadelphia, Mississippi: and the 
Choctaw Tribe of Durant, Oklahoma. All of the participants in the 
demonstration program--as well as the Department of Health and Human 
Service and the Indian Health Services report that the program is a 
great success. HHS Secretary Donna Shalala stated in a letter to 
Senator John McCain on July 23, 1996, that the program has:
  Dramatically increased collections for Medicare and Medicaid 
services, which in turn has provided badly-needed revenues for Indian 
and Alaska Native health care:
  Sigificantly reduced the turn-around time between billing and the 
receipt of payment for Medicare and Medicaid services: and,
  Increased the administrative efficiency of the participating health 
facilities by empowering them to track their own Medicare and Medicaid 
billings and collections.
  In her letter, Secretary Shalala also mentions that the Southeast 
Alaska Regional Health Corporation has been able to make ``great 
strides in upgrading the health facilities'' as a result of increased 
collections brought on by its participation in the demonstration 
program.
  In 1998, when the demonstration program was about to expire, Congress 
extended it through FY 2001. This extension has allowed the 
participants to continue their direct billing and collection efforts 
and has provided Congress with additional time to consider whether to 
permanently authorize the program.
  It is time to recognize the benefits of the demonstration program by 
enacting legislation that would permanently authorize it and expand it 
to other eligible tribal participants.

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