42 USC 2001 - Hospitals and health facilities transferred to Public Health Service; restriction on closing hospitals

Collapse to view only § 2001. Hospitals and health facilities transferred to Public Health Service; restriction on closing hospitals

§ 2001. Hospitals and health facilities transferred to Public Health Service; restriction on closing hospitals
§ 2002. Transfer of hospitals and facilities to State or private institutions; conditions and restrictions; failure to meet requirements
§ 2003. Regulations
§ 2004. Transfer of personnel, property, records, monies
§ 2004a. Sanitation facilities
§ 2004b. Implementation of education, hospital and health facility, etc., contracts and grants by Public Health Service personnel; request for detail of personnel

§ 2001. Hospitals and health facilities transferred to Public Health Service; restriction on closing hospitals

(a) All functions, responsibilities, authorities, and duties of the Department of the Interior, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Secretary of the Interior, and the Commissioner of Indian Affairs relating to the maintenance and operation of hospital and health facilities for Indians, and the conservation of the health of Indians, are transferred to, and shall be administered by, the Surgeon General of the United States Public Health Service, under the supervision and direction of the Secretary of Health and Human Services: Provided, That hospitals now in operation for a specific tribe or tribes of Indians shall not be closed prior to July 1, 1956, without the consent of the governing body of the tribe or its organized council.

(b) In carrying out his functions, responsibilities, authorities, and duties under this subchapter, the Secretary is authorized, with the consent of the Indian people served, to contract with private or other non-Federal health agencies or organizations for the provision of health services to such people on a fee-for-service basis or on a prepayment or other similar basis.

(Aug. 5, 1954, ch. 658, § 1, 68 Stat. 674; Pub. L. 93–222, § 6(a), Dec. 29, 1973, 87 Stat. 935; Pub. L. 96–88, title V, § 509(b), Oct. 17, 1979, 93 Stat. 695.)

§ 2002. Transfer of hospitals and facilities to State or private institutions; conditions and restrictions; failure to meet requirements

Whenever the health needs of the Indians can be better met thereby, the Secretary of Health and Human Services is authorized in his discretion to enter into contracts with any State, Territory, or political subdivision thereof, or any private nonprofit corporation, agency or institution providing for the transfer by the United States Public Health Service of Indian hospitals or health facilities, including initial operating equipment and supplies.

It shall be a condition of such transfer that all facilities transferred shall be available to meet the health needs of the Indians and that such health needs shall be given priority over those of the non-Indian population. No hospital or health facility that has been constructed or maintained for a specific tribe of Indians, or for a specific group of tribes, shall be transferred by the Secretary of Health and Human Services to a non-Indian entity or organization under this subchapter unless such action has been approved by the governing body of the tribe, or by the governing bodies of a majority of the tribes, for which such hospital or health facility has been constructed or maintained: Provided, That if, following such transfer by the United States Public Health Service, the Secretary of Health and Human Services finds the hospital or health facility transferred under this section is not thereafter serving the need of the Indians, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall notify those charged with management thereof, setting forth needed improvements, and in the event such improvements are not made within a time to be specified, shall immediately assume management and operation of such hospital or health facility.

(Aug. 5, 1954, ch. 658, § 2, 68 Stat. 674; Pub. L. 96–88, title V, § 509(b), Oct. 17, 1979, 93 Stat. 695.)

§ 2003. Regulations

The Secretary of Health and Human Services is also authorized to make such other regulations as he deems desirable to carry out the provisions of this subchapter.

(Aug. 5, 1954, ch. 658, § 3, 68 Stat. 674; Pub. L. 96–88, title V, § 509(b), Oct. 17, 1979, 93 Stat. 695.)

§ 2004. Transfer of personnel, property, records, monies

The personnel, property, records, and unexpended balances of appropriations, allocations, and other funds (available or to be made available), which the Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall determine to relate primarily to the functions transferred to the Public Health Service of the Department of Health and Human Services hereunder, are transferred for use in the administration of the functions so transferred. Any of the personnel transferred pursuant to this subchapter which the transferee agency shall find to be in excess of the personnel necessary for the administration of the functions transferred to such agency shall be retransferred under existing law to other positions in the Government or separated from the service.

(Aug. 5, 1954, ch. 658, § 4, 68 Stat. 674; 1970 Reorg. Plan No. 2, § 102, eff. July 1, 1970, 35 F.R. 7959, 84 Stat. 2085; Pub. L. 96–88, title V, § 509(b), Oct. 17, 1979, 93 Stat. 695.)

§ 2004a. Sanitation facilities

(a) Powers of Surgeon General

In carrying out his functions under this subchapter with respect to the provision of sanitation facilities and services, the Surgeon General is authorized—

(1) to construct, improve, extend, or otherwise provide and maintain, by contract or otherwise, essential sanitation facilities, including domestic and community water supplies and facilities, drainage facilities, and sewage- and waste-disposal facilities, together with necessary appurtenances and fixtures, for Indian homes, communities, and lands;

(2) to acquire lands, or rights or interests therein, including sites, rights-of-way, and easements, and to acquire rights to the use of water, by purchase, lease, gift, exchange, or otherwise, when necessary for the purposes of this section, except that no lands or rights or interests therein may be acquired from an Indian tribe, band, group, community, or individual other than by gift or for nominal consideration, if the facility for which such lands or rights or interests therein are acquired is for the exclusive benefit of such tribe, band, group, community, or individual, respectively;

(3) to make such arrangements and agreements with appropriate public authorities and nonprofit organizations or agencies and with the Indians to be served by such sanitation facilities (and any other person so served) regarding contributions toward the construction, improvement, extension and provision thereof, and responsibilities for maintenance thereof, as in his judgment are equitable and will best assure the future maintenance of facilities in an effective and operating condition; and

(4) to transfer any facilities provided under this section, together with appurtenant interests in land, with or without a money consideration, and under such terms and conditions as in his judgment are appropriate, having regard to the contributions made and the maintenance responsibilities undertaken, and the special health needs of the Indians concerned, to any State or Territory or subdivision or public authority thereof, or to any Indian tribe, group, band, or community or, in the case of domestic appurtenances and fixtures, to any one or more of the occupants of the Indian home served thereby.

(b) Transfer and reversion of lands

The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to transfer to the Surgeon General for use in carrying out the purposes of this section such interest and rights in federally owned lands under the jurisdiction of the Department of the Interior, and in Indian-owned lands that either are held by the United States in trust for Indians or are subject to a restriction against alienation imposed by the United States, including appurtenances and improvements thereto, as may be requested by the Surgeon General. Any land or interest therein, including appurtenances and improvements to such land, so transferred shall be subject to disposition by the Surgeon General in accordance with paragraph (4) of subsection (a): Provided, That, in any case where a beneficial interest in such land is in any Indian, or Indian tribe, band, or group, the consent of such beneficial owner to any such transfer or disposition shall first be obtained: Provided further, That where deemed appropriate by the Secretary of the Interior provisions shall be made for a reversion of title to such land if it ceases to be used for the purpose for which it is transferred or disposed.

The Surgeon General shall consult with, and encourage the participation of, the Indians concerned, States and political subdivisions thereof, in carrying out the provisions of this section.

(Aug. 5, 1954, ch. 658, § 7, as added Pub. L. 86–121, § 1, July 31, 1959, 73 Stat. 267.)

§ 2004b. Implementation of education, hospital and health facility, etc., contracts and grants by Public Health Service personnel; request for detail of personnel

In accordance with subsection (d) of section 215 of this title, upon the request of any Indian tribe, band, group, or community, commissioned officers of the Service may be assigned by the Secretary for the purpose of assisting such Indian tribe, group, band, or community in carrying out the provisions of contracts with, or grants to, tribal organizations pursuant to sections 5321 and 5322 of title 25.

(Aug. 5, 1954, ch. 658, § 8, as added Pub. L. 93–638, title I, § 104(b), formerly § 105(b), Jan. 4, 1975, 88 Stat. 2208; renumbered § 104(b) and amended Pub. L. 100–472, title II, § 203(a), (c), Oct. 5, 1988, 102 Stat. 2290.)