WASHINGTON DC –
Chairman Dorgan has been particularly concerned about the unmet funding need in the Contract Health Services program. This program allows for medical care and urgent health care services to be purchased from public and private non-Indian Health Service providers when the Indian Health Service or tribal health facilities are not able to provide it. By June, and often earlier in the fiscal year, the Indian Health Service runs out of funding for Contract Health Services. In the attached letter, Chairman Dorgan has asked tribal leaders to provide him with information from their communities about how the Contract Health Services program is or is not working. Chairman Dorgan plans to hold a hearing on the Contract Health Service issues in the near future.