Indian Health Care Improvement Act

Indian Health Care Improvement Act - 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.

Defines the terms used in this Act.

Title I: Indian Health Manpower - Directs the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to make scholarship grants to individuals: (1) who are enrolled in medical schools; schools of optometry, osteophathy, dentistry, pharmacy, podiatry, public health, or nursing, or schools licensed by a State to train persons in the allied health professions, and (2) who agree to provide their professional services to Indians after completion of their professional training.

Establishes a priority according to which the Secretary shall award scholarship grants under this Act.

States that any scholarship grant awarded to any individual under this Act shall be awarded under the condition that such individual will, after the completion of his professional training, provide his professional services to Indians for a reasonable period of time as prescribed by the Secretary.

Sets forth a formula by which the United States shall be entitled to recover scholarship grants from individuals who fail to comply with such condition for the full period.

Authorizes to be appropriated for this program: $8,000,000 for fiscal year 1976, $16,000,000 for fiscal year 1977, $22,000,000 for fiscal year 1978, $30,000,000 for fiscal year 1979, and $34,000,000 for fiscal year 1980, and for each succeeding fiscal year, such sums as may be necessary to continue to make such grants to individuals who (prior to July 1, 1980) have received such grants and who are eligible for such grants under this Act during such succeeding fiscal year.

Directs the Secretary to make scholarship grants for a period not to exceed two academic years to Indians who: (1) have successfully completed their high school education; and (2) have demonstrated a capability to successfully complete a premedical, predental, or preosteopathy course of study.

Authorizes to be appropriated for the above program: $1,000,000 for fiscal year 1976; $2,000,000 for fiscal year 1977; and $3,000,000 for each of the next three fiscal years.

Permits the Secretary to provide continuing education allowances to Indian Health Service physicians.

Authorizes to be appropriated for such programs: $350,000 each year for fiscal years 1976 and 1977; $375,000 for fiscal year 1978, $390,000 for fiscal year 1979, and $410,000 for fiscal year 1980.

Title II: Health Services - Authorizes the Secretary to expend over a five-fiscal-year period $123,500,000, in addition to the annual appropriations required to continue the health service program to the Indian people, and to employ additional personnel for the purpose of eliminating backlogs in Indian health care services and to supply known, unmet medical, surgical, dental and other Indian health needs.

Title III: Health Facilities - Authorizes the Secretary to expend $400,000,000 over a five-fiscal-year period for the purpose of eliminating inadequate, outdated, and otherwise unsatisfactory service hospitals, health centers, health stations, and other service facilities.

Enables the Secretary to expend $470,000,000 within a five-fiscal-year period to supply unmet needs for safe water and sanitary waste disposal facilities in existing and new Indian homes and communities.

Directs the Secretary to develop a plan, together with the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, to assure that the five-year schedule provided for in this Act will be met.

Title IV: Access to Health Services - States that the service facilities used to provide health care and services to Indians are hereby deemed to be accredited facilities for the purposes of title XVIII (Medicare) and title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act.

Title V: Access to Health Services for Urban Indians - Defines "Urban Indians", "Urban Indian organization" and "urban center" as used in this Act.

Provides that the Secretary shall enter into contracts with urban Indian organizations to provide Federal assistance to such organizations for the purpose of establishing and administering outreach programs to make urban Indians in the urban centers in which such organizations are situated knowledgeable of the health service resources available within such centers and the means of gaining access to those resources.

Directs the Secretary to prescribe the criteria for selecting urban Indian organizations with which to contract pursuant to this Act.

Authorizes to be appropriated for this program: $3,000,000 for fiscal year 1976; $4,000,000 for fiscal year 1977; and $5,000,000 for fiscal year 1978.

Provides that, within six months after the end of fiscal year 1976, the Secretary shall review the above program and shall submit to the Congress his assessment of it and recommendations for any further legislation.

Title VI: Miscellaneous - Requires the Secretary to report annually to the President and the Congress on progress made in effecting the purposes of this Act.

States that within three months after the end of fiscal year 1979, the Secretary shall review the programs established or assisted under this Act and shall submit to the Congress his assessment and recommendations of additional programs or additional assistance necessary to, at a minimum provide health services to Indians, and insure a health status for Indians, which is at a parity with the health services available to, and the health status of, the general population.

Provides that the funds appropriated pursuant to this Act shall remain available until expended.