{"id":"indian-health-service-direct-care","name":"Indian Health Service Direct Care","provider":"Indian Health Service, Tribal health programs, and Urban Indian organizations","entitlement_type":"government-benefit","entitlement_type_label":"Government benefit","entitlement_type_context":{"definition":"A government-funded or administered benefit, service, coverage program, assistance program, or public access route.","domain":"public-benefits","archetype":"direct-program","agent_instruction":"Identify the administering jurisdiction and disclose income, household, age, disability, immigration, residence, renewal, fee, and capacity rules that apply."},"summary":"Eligible American Indian and Alaska Native people can register for health services available through Indian Health Service facilities and participating Tribal or Urban Indian health programs.","benefit":{"description":"Available direct medical, dental, behavioral-health, pharmacy, preventive, and other services within the capability and resources of the serving Indian health facility or program.","estimated_value_usd":null},"discovery":{"focus":"public-service","has_estimated_dollar_value":false},"access":{"relationships":["American Indian or Alaska Native person eligible for Indian health services","Other person eligible under a limited Indian Health Service category"],"requirements":"Eligibility generally depends on American Indian or Alaska Native descent and relationship to the Indian community served, with specific documentation and local program rules. Certain children, spouses, pregnant people, household members, and other non-Indians may qualify in limited circumstances. Purchased or Referred Care has additional residency, notification, medical-priority, alternate-resource, authorization, and funding rules.","activation":"Contact the patient-registration office at a nearby IHS, Tribal, or Urban Indian health facility, ask about local eligibility and documentation, establish a medical record, and schedule available care. Obtain advance authorization for outside care when required.","cost_basis":"varies","cost_basis_label":"Variable by provider or eligibility","cost_basis_context":{"classification":"variable","definition":"The user's out-of-pocket cost cannot be represented by one fixed amount because it depends on provider policy, income, household, geography, selected service, coverage group, subsidy amount, or the underlying program. It may be free, reduced, sliding-scale, or partly paid.","agent_instruction":"Read and disclose the record's fees and requirements; use the most precise bounded price or variation reason available instead of repeating only that cost varies.","variation_patterns":["bounded price range","provider-set price","income-based sliding scale","coverage or service-dependent cost sharing","partial subsidy","directory of programs with different terms"],"does_not_mean":["universally free","cost information was necessarily omitted"]},"fees":"IHS is not insurance or a guaranteed benefits package, and services depend on facility capability and available resources. Transportation is the patient's responsibility; outside-provider care is the patient's responsibility unless Purchased or Referred Care is properly authorized, eligible, prioritized, and funded. Some locally funded Tribal or Urban services may have different fees or eligibility.","personalized":false,"regions":["US","IHS, Tribal, and Urban Indian facility service areas"],"expires":null},"status":"verified","last_checked":"2026-08-04","claim_url":"https://www.ihs.gov/aboutihs/eligibility/","source_url":"https://www.ihs.gov/aboutihs/eligibility/","source":{"primary_url":"https://www.ihs.gov/aboutihs/eligibility/","evidence":[{"source":"Indian Health Service, Tribal health programs, and Urban Indian organizations","url":"https://www.ihs.gov/aboutihs/eligibility/","kind":"provider","checked_at":"2026-08-04"}]},"parent":null,"coverage":{"level":"national","family":"health-and-counseling","jurisdiction":"United States","maturity":"direct"},"web_url":"/benefits/indian-health-service-direct-care","taxonomy":{"version":"1.0","url":"/api/v1/taxonomy"}}