United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians · DENTAL
Purchased and Referred Care (PRC / Contract Health)
IHS-funded referral program, launched January 1, 2025, that pays for medical and dental care an IHS or tribally operated facility cannot provide: inpatient hospital stays and physician charges, outpatient and specialist fees, advanced dental and oral surgery, medical and surgical supplies, optometry, pharmacy, medical emergencies, and patient travel reimbursement (Priority I care only). PRC is not an entitlement or insurance plan and is the payer of last resort — applicants must use Medicare, Medicaid, private insurance and other alternate resources first, and UKB offers benefits-coordinator help with those applications. UKB members remain eligible for direct care at any IHS or Cherokee Nation Health Services facility; PRC covers what those facilities refer out.
Who's eligible
Tribal Citizens Only Geographic
Per the PRC page:
- "Eligibility is limited to exclusive UKB tribal members only" (enrolled with UKB only, not dual-enrolled)
- who "reside on a permanent basis within the UKB PRC Service Delivery Area." Also eligible: exclusive UKB full-time students temporarily living away from the area for school; exclusive UKB members temporarily away for travel or employment; exclusive UKB children placed in foster care away from the area by court order who were eligible at the time of the order; a non-Indian woman pregnant with the child of an exclusive UKB member (during pregnancy and six weeks postpartum, OB-related care); and non-Indian adopted, step- and foster children of an eligible exclusive UKB parent. Non-emergency care must be pre-authorized; after emergency care at a non-IHS facility, PRC must be notified within 72 hours (30 days for elderly or disabled patients)
Where it's offered
County
The PRC Service Delivery Area is "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." ZIP matching works by county, so an address in the part of those six counties outside the UKB districts will still show as in-area — confirm with PRC.
Location:
Echota Behavioral Health – West, 16414 W. 760 Rd., Tahlequah, OK 74464
How to apply
PRC works by referral: a provider at an IHS or tribally operated facility submits a written referral to UKB PRC, and a PRC team member then contacts the patient to schedule an in-person visit for documentation or to arrange secure electronic submission. A referral does not guarantee payment. After emergency care, call PRC within 72 hours. Keep all referral appointments (give three days' notice to cancel) and send PRC itemized bills, insurance payment records and explanations of benefits. Denials can be appealed in writing within 30 days. Phone 918-871-2833; email ukbprc@ukb-nsn.gov.
Phone Email
Contact
Phone: 918-871-2833
Email: ukbprc@ukb-nsn.gov
Last verified against the official source on 2026-09-22.