GENERAL PROVISIONS

25 USC 1601 - Congressional findings

The Congress finds the following:
(a) Federal health services to maintain and improve the health of the Indians are consonant with and required by the Federal Governments historical and unique legal relationship with, and resulting responsibility to, the American Indian people.
(b) A major national goal of the United States is to provide the quantity and quality of health services which will permit the health status of Indians to be raised to the highest possible level and to encourage the maximum participation of Indians in the planning and management of those services.
(c) Federal health services to Indians have resulted in a reduction in the prevalence and incidence of preventable illnesses among, and unnecessary and premature deaths of, Indians.
(d) Despite such services, the unmet health needs of the American Indian people are severe and the health status of the Indians is far below that of the general population of the United States.

25 USC 1602 - Declaration of health objectives

(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 in each report required to be transmitted to the Congress under section 1671 of this title, a report on the progress made in each area of the Service toward meeting each of the objectives described in subsection (b) of this section.

25 USC 1603 - Definitions

For purposes of this chapter
(a) Secretary, unless otherwise designated, means the Secretary of Health and Human Services.
(b) Service means the Indian Health Service.
(c) Indians or Indian, unless otherwise designated, means any person who is a member of an Indian tribe, as defined in subsection (d) of this section, except that, for the purpose of sections 1612 and 1613 of this title, such terms shall mean any individual who (1), irrespective of whether he or she lives on or near a reservation, is a member of a tribe, band, or other organized group of Indians, including those tribes, bands, or groups terminated since 1940 and those recognized now or in the future by the State in which they reside, or who is a descendant, in the first or second degree, of any such member, or (2) is an Eskimo or Aleut or other Alaska Native, or (3) is considered by the Secretary of the Interior to be an Indian for any purpose, or (4) is determined to be an Indian under regulations promulgated by the Secretary.
(d) Indian tribe means any Indian tribe, band, nation, or other organized group or community, including any Alaska Native village or group or regional or village corporation as defined in or established pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (85 Stat. 688) [43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.], which is recognized as eligible for the special programs and services provided by the United States to Indians because of their status as Indians.
(e) Tribal organization means the elected governing body of any Indian tribe or any legally established organization of Indians which is controlled by one or more such bodies or by a board of directors elected or selected by one or more such bodies (or elected by the Indian population to be served by such organization) and which includes the maximum participation of Indians in all phases of its activities.
(f) Urban Indian means any individual who resides in an urban center, as defined in subsection (g) of this section, and who meets one or more of the four criteria in subsection (c)(1) through (4) of this section.
(g) Urban center means any community which has a sufficient urban Indian population with unmet health needs to warrant assistance under subchapter IV of this chapter, as determined by the Secretary.
(h) Urban Indian organization means a nonprofit">nonprofit corporate body situated in an urban center, governed by an urban Indian controlled board of directors, and providing for the maximum participation of all interested Indian groups and individuals, which body is capable of legally cooperating with other public and private entities for the purpose of performing the activities described in section 1653 (a) of this title.
(i) Area office means an administrative entity including a program office, within the Indian Health Service through which services and funds are provided to the service units within a defined geographic area.
(j) Service unit means
(1) an administrative entity within the Indian Health Service, or
(2) a tribe or tribal organization operating health care programs or facilities with funds from the Service under the Indian Self-Determination Act [25 U.S.C. 450f et seq.],

through which services are provided, directly or by contract, to the eligible Indian population within a defined geographic area.

(k) Health promotion includes
(1) cessation of tobacco smoking,
(2) reduction in the misuse of alcohol and drugs,
(3) improvement of nutrition,
(4) improvement in physical fitness,
(5) family planning,
(6) control of stress, and
(7) pregnancy and infant care (including prevention of fetal alcohol syndrome).
(l) Disease prevention includes
(1) immunizations,
(2) control of high blood pressure,
(3) control of sexually transmittable diseases,
(4) prevention and control of diabetes,
(5) control of toxic agents,
(6) occupational safety and health,
(7) accident prevention,
(8) fluoridation of water, and
(9) control of infectious agents.
(m) Service area means the geographical area served by each area office.
(n) Health profession means allopathic medicine, family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, geriatric medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, podiatric medicine, nursing, public health nursing, dentistry, psychiatry, osteopathy, optometry, pharmacy, psychology, public health, social work, marriage and family therapy, chiropractic medicine, environmental health and engineering, an allied health profession, or any other health profession.
(o) Substance abuse includes inhalant abuse.
(p) FAE means fetal alcohol effect.
(q) FAS means fetal alcohol syndrome.