Indian Health Care Improvement Act Amendments of 2006

H.R. 5312, the Indian Health Care Improvement Act Amendments of 2006, was designed to modernize and expand the delivery of healthcare services to American Indians and Alaska Natives. The bill aimed to improve health outcomes by increasing funding for tribal health facilities, expanding scholarship and loan repayment programs for health professionals, and enhancing services for behavioral health and diabetes prevention. For citizens, the legislation sought to provide more local control over healthcare priorities and ensure that tribal members could access Medicare, Medicaid, and the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) more easily without facing certain cost-sharing burdens. While the bill was considered by several committees and granted extensions for review, it did not pass during the 109th Congress; however, many of its core provisions were eventually incorporated into later legislation.