Congress·In Committee·H.R. 8658

Indian Health Service Emergency Claims Parity Act

Indian Health Service: Longer Window for Emergency Care Notifications

May 4·View on Congress.gov·Read full text

This bill is one vehicle in a longer effort. See the full story across every version.View effort →

Next up: A house committee

This bill is currently in the early stages of the legislative process and is being reviewed by House committees. It recently had a hearing in a subcommittee, which shows that it is actively moving forward. There are no further actions scheduled at this time.

Legislative Progress

House

Senate

President

Law

Unlikely to pass

While the bill addresses a clear problem, most bills introduced by a single member without a large group of cosponsors fail to move past the committee stage.

How we got here

This bill’s path across every version that has carried it.

Reintroduced
Reintroduced from S. 4869 (118th), which died when its Congress ended.
S. 4869 (118th) →

Key Points

This bill changes the rules for how Native Americans report emergency medical care received at hospitals not run by the Indian Health Service. It ensures that patients have at least 15 days to notify the government about their treatment so the costs can be covered.
Currently, the time limit to report these visits can be very short, which often leads to the government refusing to pay for life-saving care. By extending the window to 15 days, the bill aims to prevent families from being hit with massive medical bills while they are still recovering from an emergency.
This policy specifically helps tribal members who live in areas where the nearest hospital is a private or non-government facility. It provides a more realistic timeline for patients or their families to handle insurance paperwork during a health crisis.

Impact Analysis

Govbase has not yet run an impact analysis on this legislation.

Milestones

4 milestones4 actions

May 21, 2026House

Subcommittee Hearings Held

May 12, 2026House

Referred to the Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs.

Sent to a congressional committee for expert review. The committee decides whether this bill moves forward.

May 4, 2026House

Referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

Sent to a congressional committee for expert review. The committee decides whether this bill moves forward.

May 4, 2026

Introduced in House

The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.

No votes or news coverage recorded for this bill yet.

Source Information

Document Type

Congressional Bill

Official Title

Indian Health Service Emergency Claims Parity Act

Bill NumberHR 8658

Congress119th Congress

ChamberHouse of Representatives

Latest ActionSubcommittee Hearings Held

Data Sources

Congress.gov

Official legislative information

Read Full Bill Text

Sponsor

Cosponsors

(1)

R: 1

Analysis generated by AI. Always verify with official sources.