Indian Health Service Cautions Vendors About Improper Medical Bills

The Indian Health Service (IHS) and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) have written a joint letter addressing improper bills and collection on improper bills targeting IHS-approved Purchased/Referred Care (PRC) program patients.

The letter reiterates that the Indian Health Care Improvement Act (IHCIA) prohibits medical providers, suppliers or billers from holding those patients liable for any costs or charges associated with the approved health care services, the IHS said in a Thursday (Dec. 12) press release.

“For too long, Native Americans have faced improper medical bills for health services that should be free,” CFPB Director Rohit Chopra said in the release. “Federal law clearly prohibits these billing practices, collection attempts and reporting of these unlawful debts. Today’s guidance makes these obligations crystal clear.”

With this and other actions, the IHS is working to improve the PRC program and protect IHS patients and their families, IHS Director Roselyn Tso said in the release.

“This collaboration with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will assist the IHS in disseminating these protections to our vendors, credit agencies and debt collectors, while also providing an avenue of IHS beneficiaries to begin submitting complaints,” Tso said.

The CFPB also released a report Thursday, saying it found that consumers in communities in which a majority of residents are American Indian or Alaska Native are disproportionately affected by medical debt in collections.

“Many medical collections for Native consumers are for bills that patients may not actually owe,” the report said. “Billing and administrative complications in the IHS system can result in delayed payments, errors and confusion on the part of external providers. Consequently, providers often inappropriately bill patients for care that has been authorized for payment through the IHS system.”

In an earlier, separate action, the CFPB said in October that it is targeting illegal practices among medical debt collectors.

In July, the regulator released a report in which it said it found a “significant number of consumer complaints” on how dentists and other healthcare providers promoted or sold medical credit cards to their patients, by misrepresenting things like “deferred interest” promotions or pressuring consumers to open those cards while undergoing treatment.