Members can utilize services provided by the program without being turned away.

By: LANI HANSEN, SENIOR REPORTER
TAHLEQUAH, Okla- The United Keetoowah Band recently announced its Purchased and Referred Care Program, commonly known as Contract Health Services to provide services for UKB members.
After receiving funding allocations from the Indian Health Service (IHS), the launch of the program is a momentous occasion. It marks the beginning of a new era in which the tribe can offer tailored, responsive and culturally attuned health services to the tribal members. The program is a promise of improved accessibility and quality in healthcare delivery.
Under the Indian Self-Determination Education Assistance Act (ISDEAA), PRC is a medical referral program for specialty care services that are not available in an IHS or tribally operated program. It is important to know that all UKB members will continue to be eligible for direct patient care services at any IHS or Cherokee Nation Health Services facility, as well as any other tribally operated health facility that services all tribes under ISDEAA.
With the new program, UKB will be utilized when a provider from an IHS or tribally operated health facility refers an eligible patient for specialty care or for other necessary medical services not offered or otherwise accessible. The following guidance is provided, which is standard PRC program protocols: Information for referring providers - Point of Contact: Caleen Bolin - Phone: 918-871-2833 - Fax: 918-414-4006 - Email: ukbprc@ukb-nsn.gov.
The PRC Program will provide services such as Inpatient Hospital Stay & Physician Charges, Outpatient services, Physician Fees & Medical Specialist Fees, Dental Services – advanced or oral surgery, Medical and Surgical Supplies, Optometry Services, Patient Travel Reimburses (Priority I Care Only), Medical Emergencies, Pharmacy Services and Dental Services.
PRC is neither an entitlement program nor insurance plan and is to be considered the payer of last resort. Purchased and Referred Care (PRC) includes resources for the provision of medical services outside the scope of the direct care program. Due to limitations of PRC resources, funds must be managed in accordance with established medical priorities. PRC resources are used for referred services, "referrals," and emergency services.
In order to be eligible for the program, you must meet the requirements: 1. Eligibility is limited to exclusive UKB tribal members only, and 2. Must reside on a permanent basis within the UKB PRC Service Delivery Area, which includes the following counties: Adair, Cherokee, Craig, Delaware, Nowata, Rogers, Sequoyah, and Washington Counties, and the portions of Mayes, McIntosh, Muskogee, Ottawa, Tulsa, and Wagoner Counties in Oklahoma that are within the geographic boundaries of the UKB’s Tribal Districts.
The following are also eligible: Exclusive UKB member that is a full-time boarding school, college, vocational, or other academic students who are temporarily living away from the Service Delivery Area specifically for the purpose of education. Exclusive UKB member who is temporarily away from the service Delivery Area due to travel, employment, etc. Exclusive UKB children placed in foster care away from the service Delivery Area by order of a court of competent authority and who were eligible for PRC at the time of the court order shall continue to be eligible. A non-Indian pregnant woman carrying the child of an exclusive UKB member is eligible for PRC care during pregnancy and for 6 weeks postpartum for OB-related care. Non-Indian adopted children, stepchildren, and foster children of an otherwise eligible exclusive UKB parent.
“We are excited to have this program within the tribe and see it grow as we plan to add more staff,” Bolin said.
Information about the PRC Program can be found on the website at https://www.ukb-nsn.gov/prc-program, or contact 918-871-2833.

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