§ 1602. Declaration of national Indian health policy

Statutory text

Congress declares that it is the policy of this Nation, in fulfillment of its special trust responsibilities and legal obligations to Indians—

to ensure the highest possible health status for Indians and urban Indians and to provide all resources necessary to effect that policy;

to raise the health status of Indians and urban Indians to at least the levels set forth in the goals contained within the Healthy People 2010 initiative or successor objectives;

to ensure maximum Indian participation in the direction of health care services so as to render the persons administering such services and the services themselves more responsive to the needs and desires of Indian communities;

to increase the proportion of all degrees in the health professions and allied and associated health professions awarded to Indians so that the proportion of Indian health professionals in each Service area is raised to at least the level of that of the general population;

to require that all actions under this chapter shall be carried out with active and meaningful consultation with Indian tribes and tribal organizations, and conference with urban Indian organizations, to implement this chapter and the national policy of Indian self-determination;

to ensure that the United States and Indian tribes work in a government-to-government relationship to ensure quality health care for all tribal members; and

to provide funding for programs and facilities operated by Indian tribes and tribal organizations in amounts that are not less than the amounts provided to programs and facilities operated directly by the Service.

Legislative history

Reconstructed from this section’s Code source credit and amendment notes, resolved against the local Statutes at Large. Editorial notes are evidence, not the law that made the change.

1976
Indian Health Care Improvement Act
Pub. L. 94–437 § 3 · 90 Stat. 1400
Enacted · 25 U.S.C. § 1602
Pub. L. 94–437, § 3, Sept. 30, 1976, 90 Stat. 1401
Source evidence
Code source credit
Pub. L. 94–437, § 3, Sept. 30, 1976, 90 Stat. 1401
Enacted provision · exact public law section
Sec. 3. declaration of policy The Congress hereby declares that it is the policy of this 25 USC 1602. Nation, in fulfillment of its special responsibilities and legal obligation to the American Indian people, to meet the national goal of providing the highest possible health status to Indians and to provide existing Indian health services with all resources necessary to effect that policy.
1992
Indian Health Amendments of 1992
Pub. L. 102–573 § 3(b) · 106 Stat. 4526
Amended · 25 U.S.C. § 1602
Pub. L. 102–573 amended section generally. Prior to amendment, section read as follows: “The Congress hereby declares that it is the policy of this Nation, in fulfillment of its special responsibilities and legal obligation to the American Indian people, to meet the national goal of providing the highest possible health status to Indians and to provide existing Indian health services with all resources necessary to effect that policy.”
Source evidence
Code amendment note
Pub. L. 102–573 amended section generally. Prior to amendment, section read as follows: “The Congress hereby declares that it is the policy of this Nation, in fulfillment of its special responsibilities and legal obligation to the American Indian people, to meet the national goal of providing the highest possible health status to Indians and to provide existing Indian health services with all resources necessary to effect that policy.”
Enacted provision · exact public law section
(b) Declaration of Policy.— Section 3 of the Act (25 U.S.C. 1602) is amended to read as follows: “Sec. 3. (a) The Congress hereby declares that it is the policy of this Nation, in fulfillment of its special responsibilities and legal obligation to the American Indian people, to assure the highest possible health status for Indians and urban Indians and to provide all resources necessary to effect that policy. “(b) It is the intent of the Congress that the Nation meet the following health status objectives with respect to Indians and urban Indians by the year 2000: “(1) Reduce coronary heart disease deaths to a level of no more than 100 per 100,000. “(2) Reduce the prevalence of overweight individuals to no more than 30 percent. “(3) Reduce the prevalence of anemia to less than 10 percent among children aged 1 through 5. “(4) Reduce the level of cancer deaths to a rate of no more than 130 per 100,000. “(5) Reduce the level of lung cancer deaths to a rate of no more than 42 per 100,000. “(6) Reduce the level of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease related deaths to a rate of no more than 25 per 100,000. “(7) Reduce deaths among men caused by alcohol-related motor vehicle crashes to no more than 44.8 per 100,000. “(8) Reduce cirrhosis deaths to no more than 13 per 100,000. “(9) Reduce drug-related deaths to no more than 3 per 100,000. “(10) Reduce pregnancies among girls aged 17 and younger to no more than 50 per 1,000 adolescents. “(11) Reduce suicide among men to no more than 12.8 per 100,000. “(12) Reduce by 15 percent the incidence of injurious suicide attempts among adolescents aged 14 through 17. “(13) Reduce to less than 10 percent the prevalence of mental disorders among children and adolescents. “(14) Reduce the incidence of child abuse or neglect to less than 25.2 per 1,000 children under age 18. “(15) Reduce physical abuse directed at women by male partners to no more than 27 per 1,000 couples. “(16) Increase years of healthy life to at least 65 years. “(17) Reduce deaths caused by unintentional injuries to no more than 66.1 per 100,000. “(18) Reduce deaths caused by motor vehicle crashes to no more than 39.2 per 100,000. “(19) Among children aged 6 months through 5 years, reduce the prevalence of blood lead levels exceeding 15 ug/dl and reduce to zero the prevalence of blood lead levels exceeding 25 ug/dl. “(20) Reduce dental caries (cavities) so that the proportion of children with one or more caries (in permanent or primary teeth) is no more than 45 percent among children aged 6 through 8 and no more than 60 percent among adolescents aged 15. “(21) Reduce untreated dental caries so that the proportion of children with untreated caries (in permanent or primary teeth) is no more than 20 percent among children aged 6 through 8 and no more than 40 percent among adolescents aged 15. “(22) Reduce to no more than 20 percent the proportion of individuals aged 65 and older who have lost all of their natural teeth. “(23) Increase to at least 45 percent the proportion of individuals aged 35 to 44 who have never lost a permanent tooth due to dental caries or periodontal disease. “(24) Reduce destructive periodontal disease to a prevalence of no more than 15 percent among individuals aged 35 to 44. “(25) Increase to at least 50 percent the proportion of children who have received protective sealants on the occlusal (chewing) surfaces of permanent molar teeth. “(26) Reduce the prevalence of gingivitis among individuals aged 35 to 44 to no more than 50 percent. “(27) Reduce the infant mortality rate to no more than 8.5 per 1,000 live births. “(28) Reduce the fetal death rate (20 or more weeks of gestation) to no more than 4 per 1,000 live births plus fetal deaths. “(29) Reduce the maternal mortality rate to no more than 3.3 per 100,000 live births. “(30) Reduce the incidence of fetal alcohol syndrome to no more than 2 per 1,000 live births. “(31) Reduce stroke deaths to no more than 20 per 100,000. “(32) Reverse the increase in end-stage renal disease (requiring maintenance dialysis or transplantation) to attain an incidence of no more than 13 per 100,000. “(33) Reduce breast cancer deaths to no more than 20.6 per 100,000 women. “(34) Reduce deaths from cancer of the uterine cervix to no more than 1.3 per 100,000 women. “(35) Reduce colorectal cancer deaths to no more than 13.2 per 100,000. “(36) Reduce to no more than 11 percent the proportion of individuals who experience a limitation in major activity due to chronic conditions. “(37) Reduce significant hearing impairment to a prevalence of no more than 82 per 1,000. “(38) Reduce significant visual impairment to a prevalence of no more than 30 per 1,000. “(39) Reduce diabetes-related deaths to no more than 48 per 100,000. “(40) Reduce diabetes to an incidence of no more than 2.5 per 1,000 and a prevalence of no more than 62 per 1,000. “(41) Reduce the most severe complications of diabetes as follows: “(A) End-stage renal disease, 1.9 per 1,000. “(B) Blindness, 1.4 per 1,000. “(C) Lower extremity amputation, 4.9 per 1,000. “(D) Perinatal mortality, 2 percent. “(E) Major congenital malformations, 4 percent. “(42) Confine annual incidence of diagnosed AIDS cases to no more than 1,000 cases. “(43) Confine the prevalence of HIV infection to no more than 100 per 100,000. “(44) Reduce gonorrhea to an incidence of no more than 225 cases per 100,000. “(45) Reduce chlamydia trachomatis infections, as measured by a decrease in the incidence of nongonococcal urethritis to no more than 170 cases per 100,000. “(46) Reduce primary and secondary syphilis to an incidence of no more than 10 cases per 100,000. “(47) Reduce the incidence of pelvic inflammatory disease, as measured by a reduction in hospitalization for pelvic inflammatory disease to no more than 250 per 100,000 women aged 15 through 44. “(48) Reduce viral hepatitis B infection to no more than 40 per 100,000 cases. “(49) Reduce indigenous cases of vaccine-preventable diseases as follows: “(A) Diphtheria among individuals aged 25 and younger, 0. “(B) Tetanus among individuals aged 25 and younger, 0. “(C) Polio (wild-type virus), 0. “(D) Measles, 0. “(E) Rubella, 0. “(F) Congenital Rubella Syndrome, 0. “(G) Mumps, 500. “(H) Pertussis, 1,000. “(50) Reduce epidemic-related pneumonia and influenza deaths among individuals aged 65 and older to no more than 7.3 per 100,000. “(51) Reduce the number of new carriers of viral hepatitis B among Alaska Natives to no more than 1 case. “(52) Reduce tuberculosis to an incidence of no more than 5 cases per 100,000. “(53) Reduce bacterial meningitis to no more than 8 cases per 100,000. “(54) Reduce infectious diarrhea by at least 25 percent among children. “(55) Reduce acute middle ear infections among children aged 4 and younger, as measured by days of restricted activity or school absenteeism, to no more than 105 days per 100 children. “(56) Reduce cigarette smoking to a prevalence of no more than 20 percent. “(57) Reduce smokeless tobacco use by youth to a prevalence of no more than 10 percent. “(58) Increase to at least 65 percent the proportion of parents and caregivers who use feeding practices that prevent baby bottle tooth decay. “(59) Increase to at least 75 percent the proportion of mothers who breast feed their babies in the early postpartum period, and to at least 50 percent the proportion who continue breast feeding until their babies are 5 to 6 months old. “(60) Increase to at least 90 percent the proportion of pregnant women who receive prenatal care in the first trimester of pregnancy. “(61) Increase to at least 70 percent the proportion of individuals who have received, as a minimum within the appropriate interval, all of the screening and immunization services and at least one of the counseling services appropriate for their age and gender as recommended by the United States Preventive Services Task Force. “(c) It is the intent of the Congress that the Nation increase the proportion of all degrees in the health professions and allied and associated health profession fields awarded to Indians to 0.6 percent. “(d) The Secretary shall submit to the President, for inclusion Reports. in each report required to be transmitted to the Congress under section 801, a report on the progress made in each area of the Service toward meeting each of the objectives described in subsection (b).”.
2010
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
Pub. L. 111–148 title X § 10221(a) · 124 Stat. 119
Amended · 25 U.S.C. § 1602
Pub. L. 111–148 amended section generally. Prior to amendment, section related to declaration of health objectives
Source evidence
Code amendment note
Pub. L. 111–148 amended section generally. Prior to amendment, section related to declaration of health objectives.
Enacted provision · exact public law section
(a) In General.— Except as provided in subsection (b), S. 1790 entitled “A bill to amend the Indian Health Care Improvement Act to revise and extend that Act, and for other purposes.”, as reported by the Committee on Indian Affairs of the Senate in December 2009, is enacted into law.

3 of 3 references resolved to an enrolled provision

Editorial Notes

References in Text

This chapter, referred to in par. (5), was in the original “this Act”, meaning Pub. L. 94–437, Sept. 30, 1976, 90 Stat. 1400, known as the Indian Health Care Improvement Act, which is classified principally to this chapter. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 1601 of this title and Tables.

Codification

Amendment by Pub. L. 111–148 is based on section 103 of title I of S. 1790, One Hundred Eleventh Congress, as reported by the Committee on Indian Affairs of the Senate in Dec. 2009, which was enacted into law by section 10221(a) of Pub. L. 111–148.

Amendments1992–2010 · 2 rounds

2010

Pub. L. 111–148 amended section generally. Prior to amendment, section related to declaration of health objectives.

1992

Pub. L. 102–573 amended section generally. Prior to amendment, section read as follows: “The Congress hereby declares that it is the policy of this Nation, in fulfillment of its special responsibilities and legal obligation to the American Indian people, to meet the national goal of providing the highest possible health status to Indians and to provide existing Indian health services with all resources necessary to effect that policy.”

Credits

1976–2010 · 3 acts

1976Pub. L. 94–437, § 3, Sept. 30, 1976, 90 Stat. 1401
1992Pub. L. 102–573, § 3(b), Oct. 29, 1992, 106 Stat. 4526
2010Pub. L. 111–148, title X, § 10221(a), Mar. 23, 2010, 124 Stat. 935.

Show as published

(Pub. L. 94–437, § 3, Sept. 30, 1976, 90 Stat. 1401; Pub. L. 102–573, § 3(b), Oct. 29, 1992, 106 Stat. 4526; Pub. L. 111–148, title X, § 10221(a), Mar. 23, 2010, 124 Stat. 935.)