Twelve Areas. One line.
The Indian Health Service organizes its system into twelve Areas. They differ enormously, in geography, in how much care is tribally operated, and in how after-hours coverage gets bought. Here is the map.
An IHS Area is an administrative region, not a clinical one. What it determines, for our purposes, is who does the contracting: an IHS-operated service unit generally procures after-hours coverage through its Area office, while a tribally operated 638 program or compact procures on its own authority.
Areas also differ in how much recent procurement activity they have shown for nurse advice line services. Five have posted public notices in the last two years; the others have not, which usually means coverage is handled inside tribal programs rather than through Area contracting.
| IHS Area | States served | Recent public nurse-line procurement |
|---|---|---|
| Alaska Area | Alaska | None surfaced |
| Albuquerque Area | New Mexico, Colorado, and west Texas | Recent activity |
| Bemidji Area | Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, and Illinois | None surfaced |
| Billings Area | Montana and Wyoming | None surfaced |
| California Area | California | None surfaced |
| Great Plains Area | North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Iowa | Recent activity |
| Nashville Area | The eastern united states, from maine to florida and west to texas | None surfaced |
| Navajo Area | Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah | Recent activity |
| Oklahoma City Area | Oklahoma, Kansas, and parts of Texas | None surfaced |
| Phoenix Area | Arizona, Nevada, and Utah | Recent activity |
| Portland Area | Washington, Oregon, and Idaho | Recent activity |
| Tucson Area | Southern arizona | None surfaced |
“None surfaced” means we found no public SAM.gov nurse-advice-line notice for that Area in the recent record. It does not mean those facilities have coverage, and it does not mean they are not buying it, tribally operated programs procure directly and never appear on SAM.gov at all.
Where procurement has been active
5 of the twelve Areas have had recent public activity: Albuquerque, Great Plains, Navajo, Phoenix, and Portland. Each of those Area pages summarizes the notices on record.
Every Area
Alaska Area
Alaska
Read →Albuquerque Area
New Mexico, Colorado, and west Texas
Read →Bemidji Area
Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, and Illinois
Read →Billings Area
Montana and Wyoming
Read →California Area
California
Read →Great Plains Area
North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Iowa
Read →Nashville Area
The eastern united states, from maine to florida and west to texas
Read →Navajo Area
Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah
Read →Oklahoma City Area
Oklahoma, Kansas, and parts of Texas
Read →Phoenix Area
Arizona, Nevada, and Utah
Read →Portland Area
Washington, Oregon, and Idaho
Read →Tucson Area
Southern arizona
Read →Sources
- Indian Health Service Area office directories.
- SAM.gov contract opportunities, Indian Health Service.
Area descriptions are drawn from public IHS materials. Procurement summaries reflect public SAM.gov postings as recorded; notices are amended and superseded, so work from the current posting.
Not sure which Area you fall under?
Tell us the facility or program and we will sort it out, along with what after-hours coverage would look like for that service population.