§ 1631. — Consultation; closure of facilities; reports.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 25USC1631]
TITLE 25--INDIANS
CHAPTER 18--INDIAN HEALTH CARE
SUBCHAPTER III--HEALTH FACILITIES
Sec. 1631. Consultation; closure of facilities; reports
(a) Consultation; standards for accreditation
Prior to the expenditure of, or the making of any firm commitment to
expend, any funds appropriated for the planning, design, construction,
or renovation of facilities pursuant to section 13 of this title, the
Secretary, acting through the Service, shall--
(1) consult with any Indian tribe that would be significantly
affected by such expenditure for the purpose of determining and,
whenever practicable, honoring tribal preferences concerning size,
location, type, and other characteristics of any facility on which
such expenditure is to be made, and
(2) ensure, whenever practicable, that such facility meets the
standards of the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care
Organizations by not later than 1 year after the date on which the
construction or renovation of such facility is completed.
(b) Closure; report on proposed closure
(1) Notwithstanding any provision of law other than this subsection,
no Service hospital or outpatient health care facility of the Service,
or any portion of such a hospital or facility, may be closed if the
Secretary has not submitted to the Congress at least 1 year prior to the
date such hospital or facility (or portion thereof) is proposed to be
closed an evaluation of the impact of such proposed closure which
specifies, in addition to other considerations--
(A) the accessibility of alternative health care resources for
the population served by such hospital or facility;
(B) the cost effectiveness of such closure;
(C) the quality of health care to be provided to the population
served by such hospital or facility after such closure;
(D) the availability of contract health care funds to maintain
existing levels of service;
(E) the views of the Indian tribes served by such hospital or
facility concerning such closure;
(F) the level of utilization of such hospital or facility by all
eligible Indians; and
(G) the distance between such hospital or facility and the
nearest operating Service hospital.
(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to any temporary closure of a
facility or of any portion of a facility if such closure is necessary
for medical, environmental, or safety reasons.
(c) Annual report on health facility priority system
(1) The Secretary shall submit to the President, for inclusion in
each report required to be transmitted to the Congress under section
1671 of this title, a report which sets forth--
(A) the current health facility priority system of the Service,
(B) the planning, design, construction, and renovation needs for
the 10 top-priority inpatient care facilities and the 10 top-
priority ambulatory care facilities (together with required staff
quarters),
(C) the justification for such order of priority,
(D) the projected cost of such projects, and
(E) the methodology adopted by the Service in establishing
priorities under its health facility priority system.
(2) In preparing each report required under paragraph (1) (other
than the initial report), the Secretary shall--
(A) consult with Indian tribes and tribal organizations
including those tribes or tribal organizations operating health
programs or facilities under any contract entered into with the
Service under the Indian Self-Determination Act [25 U.S.C. 450f et
seq.], and
(B) review the needs of such tribes and tribal organizations for
inpatient and outpatient facilities, including their needs for
renovation and expansion of existing facilities.
(3) For purposes of this subsection, the Secretary shall, in
evaluating the needs of facilities operated under any contract entered
into with the Service under the Indian Self-Determination Act, use the
same criteria that the Secretary uses in evaluating the needs of
facilities operated directly by the Service.
(4) The Secretary shall ensure that the planning, design,
construction, and renovation needs of Service and non-Service facilities
which are the subject of a contract for health services entered into
with the Service under the Indian Self-Determination Act are fully and
equitably integrated into the development of the health facility
priority system.
(d) Funds appropriated subject to section 450f of this title
All funds appropriated under section 13 of this title for the
planning, design, construction, or renovation of health facilities for
the benefit of an Indian tribe or tribes shall be subject to the
provisions of section 102 of the Indian Self-Determination Act [25
U.S.C. 450f].
(Pub. L. 94-437, title III, Sec. 301, Sept. 30, 1976, 90 Stat. 1406;
Pub. L. 100-713, title III, Sec. 301, Nov. 23, 1988, 102 Stat. 4812;
Pub. L. 102-573, title III, Sec. 301, title IX, Sec. 902(4)(B), Oct. 29,
1992, 106 Stat. 4560, 4591.)
References in Text
The Indian Self-Determination Act, referred to in subsec. (c)(2) to
(4), is title I of Pub. L. 93-638, Jan. 4, 1975, 88 Stat. 2206, as
amended, which is classified principally to part A (Sec. 450f et seq.)
of subchapter II of chapter 14 of this title. For complete
classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out
under section 450 of this title and Tables.
Amendments
1992--Subsec. (a)(2). Pub. L. 102-573, Sec. 301(1), substituted
``Health Care Organizations'' for ``Hospitals''.
Subsec. (b)(1). Pub. L. 102-573, Sec. 301(2), struck out ``other''
before ``outpatient health care facility'' in introductory provisions
and added subpars. (F) and (G).
Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 102-573, Sec. 301(3), redesignated subsec. (d)
as (c) and struck out former subsec. (c) which read as follows: ``The
President shall include with the budget submitted under section 1105 of
title 31, for each of the fiscal years 1990, 1991, and 1992, program
information documents for the construction of 10 Indian health
facilities which--
``(1) comply with applicable construction standards, and
``(2) have been approved by the Secretary.''
Subsec. (c)(1). Pub. L. 102-573, Sec. 301(4), amended introductory
provisions generally. Prior to amendment, introductory provisions read
as follows: ``The Secretary shall submit to the Congress an annual
report which sets forth--''.
Subsec. (c)(2) to (5). Pub. L. 102-573, Sec. 301(5), redesignated
pars. (3) to (5) as (2) to (4), respectively, and struck out former par.
(2) which read as follows: ``The first report required under paragraph
(1) shall be submitted by no later than the date that is 180 days after
November 23, 1988, and, beginning in 1990, each subsequent annual report
shall be submitted by the date that is 60 days after the date on which
the President submits the budget to the Congress under section 1105 of
title 31.''
Subsecs. (d), (e). Pub. L. 102-573, Secs. 301(3), 902(4)(B),
redesignated subsec. (e) as (d) and substituted ``section 102 of the
Indian Self-Determination Act'' for ``sections 102 and 103(b) of the
Indian Self-Determination Act''. Former subsec. (d) redesignated (c).
1988--Pub. L. 100-713 amended section generally, substituting
subsecs. (a) to (e) relating to consultation, closure of facilities, and
reports for former subsecs. (a) to (c) relating to construction and
renovation of Service facilities.
Section Referred to in Other Sections
This section is referred to in sections 1633, 1636, 1671 of this
title.
