Native American Medical Privacy Protection Act

The Native American Medical Privacy Protection Act, or NAMPPA, also known as H.R. 6213, was legislation signed into federal law in March 2046.

Contents of H.R. 6213

“This Bill before the United States House of Representatives, whereas, recognizing that the land, peoples and cultures of the many Native American Tribes are a unique and protected national treasure, and, further, that their peoples and lands are sovereign, and that this Body is bound by legal treaty to respect their sovereignty and deliver certain protections under the terms of these treaties, and that among these are protection of its peoples and integrity of its borders from intrusion, both from domestic and international sources, Be it Resolved:

1. The United States recognizes various tribes are sovereign over decisions relating to collection of medical information regarding its people for public use.
2. No tribe, individual, or tribal organization shall be compelled by another entity to release protected medical information it does not itself authorize.
3. The compelling of a tribe or tribal member to release protected medical information, or the unauthorized collection or distribution of said information, by any means whatsoever, in any way that violates the integrity or sovereignty of the many Native American tribes, is a federal crime punishable by up to ten years in prison and a fine of five hundred thousand ($500,000) dollars, plus damages.
4. The Executive Branch is authorized to enforce and prosecute this statute within the borders of the United States.
5. No person, state, or local authority shall prohibit individuals from seeking medical care within reservation boundaries, under tribal law. The federal government recognizes these individuals may take on certain risks and will not prosecute injury or harm done to its citizens provided the following conditions are met:
6. The individual seeking treatment gives full permission, is able to do so, and is of legal age, or his or her guardians give said permission.
7. Treatments to be prescribed are fully, honestly, and completely disclosed before consent is given.
8. There is genuine and sincere interest in providing aid to the individual commensurate with the promises of treatment.
9. The practitioner can demonstrate evidence of the treatment’s effectiveness, or can demonstrate reasonable belief in this particular case.
10. The practitioner is licensed by a governing tribal authority recognized by the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs.
11. No tribal member shall under any circumstances be forced off of tribal land and into off-reservation treatment due to any physical, mental, behavioral or medical condition, without consent of its appropriate tribal governing body. Additionally no tribe shall be compelled to provide extraordinary treatment for any individual who is not a tribal member. Nothing in this bill shall permit license for any tribal members to willfully mistreat any U.S. citizen, in accordance with treaties currently in existence.

History

This bill has received very little attention in the national media. Exploitation of personal medical information for criminal enterprise remains a looming concern and by all appearances H.R. 6213 is simply a procedural piece of legislation designed to close an overlooked gap in existing medical law.
In truth, this bill was introduced by legislators who were backed by the Council of Native Americans, who want this bill passed into law to protect youth who are afflicted with the Sickness. Young Native Americans are approximately four times more likely than their non-native peers to contract the Sickness, and due to the panic nature of the public around the Sickness, it was a concern that this information would get out and cause harm to the native population. Additionally, treatment at government hospitals has not been perceived as effective, and tribal members are secretly building a growing network of physicians and caretakers to provide alternative, and effective, treatments to their own youth. Additionally it not only prevents Native channelers from being rounded up or forced off of reservations but allows for any channeler to seek asylum on tribal grounds.
The bill appeared doomed to die a death in committee until Jon Little Bird suggested to several Republican members of the appropriate committee that they could get a lucrative and unpopular farm subsidy passed for their constituents if they attached the subsidy as an amendment to the bill. This encouraged these members to support it and see its passage through Congress and onto the President’s desk. It was passed by a 221-208 vote along party lines. The Senate version was passed 52-48 during a budget reconciliation procedure. It does not appear the issue of the Sickness ever came up during the course of its passage.
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