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Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board
Legislative and Policy Update
November 14, 2023
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Nov. 12-17, 2023
National Congress of American Indians Annual Convention & Marketplace
New Orleans, LA
Registration Link
Nov. 14, 2023 (11:30 AM PT)
CMS AI/AN Lecture Series on Seasons of Care
Nov. 16, 2023 (11:00 AM PT) - CANCELLED
CDC Tribal Advisory Committee Monthly Call
Nov. 16, 2023 (12:00 PM PT)
IHS Direct Service Tribes Advisory Committee Monthly Meeting
Nov. 28, 2023 (8:00 AM PT)
Save the Date!
Portland Area Office FY 2026 Budget Formulation Meeting
Sheraton Portland Airport Hotel/Hybrid
Nov. 28-29, 2023
HHS Secretary’s Tribal Advisory Committee (STAC) Meeting
Washington, D.C.
Nov. 29, 2023 (11:00 AM PT)
CMS AI/AN Heritage Month Observance: Military Service Families Month
Zoom Link
Nov. 30, 2023 (9:00 AM PT)
IHS Behavioral Health Integration Webinar: Nuts & Bolts of Delivering Effective Cultural Programs in Integrated Care Clinics
Registration Link
Nov. 30, 2023 (10:00 AM PT)
IHS NTAC Quarterly Meeting
Virtual
Nov. 30, 2023
NPAIHB Tribal Caucus on Health IT Modernization
Dec. 5-6, 2023
IHS Tribal Leaders Diabetes Committee Meeting
Embassy Suites by Hilton Portland Airport, Portland, OR
or Virtual
Dec. 5-6, 2023
IHS Facilities Appropriation Advisory Board Meeting
Phoenix, AZ; Hybrid
Dec. 6, 2023 (11:00 AM PT)
CDC Grants Governance Board Tribal Listening Session
Zoom Link
Dec. 6, 2023
Direct Service Tribes Advisory Committee National Meeting
Dec. 6-7, 2023
White House Tribal Nations Summit
Washington, D.C.
Registration Link
Dec. 7, 2023 (9:00 AM PT)
IHS Behavioral Health Integration Webinar: Reviewing Barriers and Strengths to Integrate Mental Health Services in Primary Care
Registration Link
Dec. 12, 2023 (9:00 AM PT)
IHS CHAP Tribal Advisory Group Quarterly Meeting
Virtual
Dec. 13, 2023 (8:00 AM PT)
IHS Health IT Modernization Summit
Registration Link
Dec. 13-14, 2023
IHS Tribal Self Governance Advisory Committee Meeting
Washington, D.C.
Dec. 14, 2023 (9:00 AM PT)
IHS Behavioral Health Integration Webinar: Provider Roles Changing the Way We Practice
Registration Link
Dec. 14, 2023 (10:00 AM PT)
ACF Tribal Advisory Committee Meeting
Virtual
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2023 National Tribal Opioid Summit | |
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Dear Tribal leaders, Colleagues, and Community –
On behalf of the Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board (NPAIHB), we want to offer our deep appreciation for your participation in the first National Tribal Opioid Summit (NTOS), hosted by the Tulalip Tribes of Washington State. Together, we were over 1,000 Tribal leaders, frontline workers, and federal and state policymakers sharing our knowledge, our experiences, and our commitment to ending the tribal opioid crisis.
A Thank You letter and significant press releases have been shared from the NPAIHB and the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) via the White House. An Executive Summary is now available as a first step to the full Summit Report. You will find all of these materials and ongoing resources available via the National Tribal Opioid Summit
Resource Hub.
The Draft NTOS Policy Recommendations have been posted on the Resource Hub website. We request comments, edits and suggestions to summit@npaihb.org.
We look forward to sharing further in the coming weeks the following:
- A set of policy recommendations;
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A comprehensive update to the Tribal Opioid Response: National Strategic Agenda based on the feedback, recommendations, and best practices of Tribal leaders, health experts, service providers, and community members;
- A Summit Report.
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Quarterly Health News & Notes | |
Autumn Edition
Check out the Chronic Disease edition of the Health News & Notes quarterly journal. This issue features comments from Chairman Nickolaus Lewis, the 2023-2024 Youth Delegates, the vaping epidemic, and more!
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Appropriations and Legislative Updates | |
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The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs (SCIA) held an oversight hearing on the fentanyl crisis impacting Native communities last week. The SCIA Oversight Hearing titled, Fentanyl in Native Communities: Native Perspectives on Addressing the Growing Crisis” is available for viewing HERE.
Senate Confirms Dr. Monica Bertagnolli as the Director of the National Institutes of Health.
House Passes FY 2024 Interior and Environment Appropriations Bill (H.R. 4821). H.R. 4821 includes an increase of $149 million for the Indian Health Service for a total of $7.08 billion in FY 2024 and $5.9 billion in advance appropriations for the IHS in FY 2025. However, the bill does not include the President’s Budget Request to make Contract Support Costs and 105(l) lease mandatory appropriations.
Further Continuing Appropriations and Other Extensions Act, 2024 (H.R. 6363). House Speaker Johnson is seeking support for his plan to avoid a government shutdown on November 18 by laying out a two-step plan that extends funding at current levels for certain agencies to Jan. 19, 2024 or Feb. 2, 2024. The Interior, Environment and Related Agencies bill that includes funding for the Indian Health Service would be extended to Feb. 2, 2024. The proposed bill would also extend the Special Diabetes Program for Indians to Jan. 19, 2024. Whether H.R. 6363 would pass the House with 2/3 vote is uncertain.
Continuing Appropriations Act, 2024. Congress passed the Continuing Appropriations Act, which funds the federal government through Nov. 17, 2023, and averted a government shutdown for now. The Act included a temporary extension for the Special Diabetes Program for Indians (SDPI), which will expire after the Nov. 17 deadline.
Restoring Accountability in the Indian Health Service Act of 2023. Sens. Barrasso (R-WY), Thune (R-SD), Lummis (R-WY), Daines (R-MT), and Rounds (R-SD) have reintroduced the Restoring Accountability in the Indian Health Service Act (S. 3130) to amend the Indian Health Care Improvement Act to improve transparency, oversight, and accountability in the IHS and address recruitment and retention.
IHS Workforce Parity Act of 2023. Sens. Cortez Masto (D-NV) and Mullin (R-OK) introduced S. 3022, titled IHS Workforce Parity Act of 2023, that would amend the Indian Health Care Improvement Act to allow IHS scholarship and loan recipients to fulfill service obligations through half-time clinical practice.
Bipartisan Primary Care and Health Workforce Act. The Bipartisan Primary Care and Health Workforce Act was introduced and includes $5.8 billion per year over the next three years in mandatory funding for community health centers and $2.2 billion for each fiscal year in discretionary funding, one-time $3 billion capital investment to support construction and renovation at health centers with priority to dental and behavioral health projects, increasing mandatory funding for National Health Service Corps to $950 million per year for FY 2024 through 2026, $300 million for each FY 2024 through 2028 for the Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education program.
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Tribal Consultation, Listening Session & Written Comment Updates | |
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IHS Portland Area Office (PAO) FY 2026 Budget Formulation Meeting. Please save the date for the IHS PAO FY 2026 Budget Formulation meeting on Nov. 28, 2023, from 8-12:30 PM PT. Location information, as well as a Zoom link and meeting materials, will be forthcoming.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Grants Governance Board Tribal Listening Session. The CDC is hosting a tribal listening session on Dec. 6, 2023, at 11 AM PT to discuss priorities on the new CDC Grants Governance Board to improve the administration of grants.
White House Tribal Nations Summit. The White House has announced the Tribal Nations Summit on Dec. 6-7, 2023, in Washington, D.C. Tribal Leaders will have the opportunity to engage in meaningful conversations with senior Administration officials on implementing key priorities, new policies, and other critical issues facing Tribal Nations. More details will be forthcoming.
- Register by Nov. 27, 2023, at 2 PM PT HERE.
IHS Health Information Technology Modernization Virtual Summit. IHS is hosting the Health Information Technology (IT) Modernization Summit on Dec. 13, 2023, from 8 AM - 2 PM PT for Tribal Leaders and Urban Indian Organizations to engage virtually in robust and meaningful conversation on the new enterprise electronic health record solution.
IHS Tribal Consultation on Designating North Dakota and South Dakota as Purchased/Referred Care Delivery Areas (PRCDA). IHS hosted two tribal consultations to discuss the agency’s plans to study PRC implications and the feasibility of creating statewide PRCDAs in North Dakota and South Dakota. Written comments will be accepted until Nov. 15, 2023.
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Virtual Tribal Consultation on the Tribal Opioid Response Grant Program. SAMHSA hosted a virtual tribal consultation on the Tribal Opioid Response grant program last week.
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Administrative and Regulatory Updates | |
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Health and Human Services (HHS) Region 10 Tribal Quarterly Call. HHS Region 10 hosted a quarterly call last week and shared updated resources.
Indian Health Service (IHS) Announces New Electronic Health Record System. IHS has selected General Dynamics Information Technology, Inc. to build, configure, and maintain a new IHS electronic health record system utilizing the Oracle Cerner technology. NPAIHB will host a Tribal Caucus on this recent announcement on Nov. 30, 2023, at 2 PM PT.
CMS Releases Tribal Protections in Medicaid and CHIP Managed Care Oversight Toolkit. This new toolkit provides resources for states, managed care plans, and Indian Health Care Providers to maximize the benefits of Medicaid and CHIP managed care for American Indian and Alaska Native enrollees consistent with the statutory and regulatory Indian managed care protections.
CMS Updates on Mandatory Continuous Enrollment for Children in Medicaid and CHIP. Effective January 1, 2024, states are required to provide 12 months of continuous enrollment for children under 19 in Medicaid and CHIP. States may terminate eligibility for children under 19 for the following limited circumstances for children who reach age 19, cease to be state residents, request a voluntary termination of eligibility, or who are deceased, or the agency determines that eligibility was erroneously granted. States are not limited to providing only a 12-month continuous enrollment period for children. Oregon became the first state to receive approval from CMS to maintain eligibility for children from birth to six. Washington has a similar request waiting approval by CMS.
Medicaid Unwinding Updates. The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 set an end date for the Medicaid continuous enrollment condition to March 31, 2023, that included a fourteen (14) month period for states to comply with Medicaid eligibility determination requirements. Since unwinding has commenced, there has been a dramatic loss in Medicaid coverage nationwide. Tribal Self-Governance Advisory Committee is coordinating a Tribal-specific data survey to share with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to show the impact on Tribes and Tribal health programs. The Survey is available HERE.
New Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) Director of Tribal Affairs, Juliana Blome, Ph.D. She formerly served as Deputy Director of the Tribal Health Research Office at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), where she worked alongside Dr. David Wilson (Navajo Nation). There, she focused on strengthening collaborations between NIH and American Indian and Alaska Native communities, building partnerships based on trust and transparency, and increasing cultural awareness in research that improves health in Tribal communities.
The Veterans Affairs (VA) Department Finalizes Rulemaking on the Pilot Program on Graduate Medical Education and Residency. Effective Dec. 13, 2023, the VA adopts the proposed rule issued on Feb. 4, 2022, as final, with changes, to amend its regulations to include a new pilot program on graduate medical education and residency. The final rule responds to written comments received, including a number of comments from Tribes and Tribal organizations.
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) Releases Report on Indian Health Service Federal Facilities. The Report was released earlier this month that found that many federally operated facilities are not in good condition and their medical equipment is aging. The GAO made three recommendations to IHS: to assess the extent of medical equipment data problems across IHS areas, implement a plan to correct any problems, and regularly monitor adherence to IHS medical equipment inventory management policy requirements.
Not Invisible Act Commission Releases Final Report. The Report calls upon the federal government to declare a Decade of Action and Healing to address the crisis of missing, murdered, and trafficked American Indian and Alaska Native people. A summary of Key Findings and Recommendations can be found on page 11 of the Report.
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Tribal Health-related Funding Opportunities | |
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John Hopkins Center for American Indian Health Scholarship. Financial support for American Indian and Alaska Native scholars, health leaders, health professionals, and paraprofessionals serving tribal communities who are interested in attending the Johns Hopkins Center for American Indian Health Summer or Winter Institute courses at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. Eligible applicants are American Indian and Alaska Native scholars with a Bachelor’s degree and a minimum grade point average of 2.75.
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The application due date is Nov. 17, 2023.
The IHS Division of Diabetes Treatment and Prevention has a new 2024 funding opportunity for federally recognized tribes, tribal organizations, urban Indian organizations, and/or federal healthcare facilities that currently do not have a 2023 Special Diabetes Program for Indians grant. The 2024 Special Diabetes Program for Indians 2.0 (SDPI-2) will be a 4-year program to address diabetes treatment and prevention efforts in American Indian and Alaska Native communities, and applications are due by Nov. 29, 2023.
The IHS Division of Facilities, Planning, and Construction is accepting FY 2024 Staff Quarters Project proposals. Deadline to receive project proposals is Feb. 1, 2024. Email any questions to CAPT Jason Lovett, Director, Division of Health Facilities Engineering, at Jason.lovett@ihs.gov.
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Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board | Website | | | | |
