Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board

Legislative and Policy Update

Tuesday, November 15, 2022

Health News & Notes

Important Dates

Week of Nov. 14, 2022

Congress Reconvenes; Recesses for Thanksgiving Nov. 21-27^th & Reconvenes Nov. 28

Nov. 15, 2022 (10:00 AM Pacific)

HHS Region 10 LGBTQ+ Gender Affirming Care Meeting

Zoom Registration

Nov. 15, 2022 (12:00 PM Pacific)

MMPC November Face-to-Face Meeting (virtual)

Nov. 15, 2022 (12:30 PM Pacific)

CMS All Tribes Consultation Webinar on Marketplace Open Enrollment

Zoom Registration

Nov. 15-17, 2022

SAMHSA Tribal Technical Advisory Committee Meeting — Viejas, CA (hybrid)

Nov. 15-17, 2022

IHS Contract Support Costs Advisory Group Meeting — Portland, OR (hybrid)

Nov. 16-17, 2022

CMS TTAG Virtual Face-to-Face Meeting — Washington, D.C. (virtual)

Nov. 17, 2022 (12:00 PM Pacific)

IHS DSTAC November Monthly Call

Nov. 17, 2022 (3:00 PM Pacific)

HHS Region 10 Quarterly Tribal Call

Zoom Registration

Nov. 22, 2022 (9:30 AM Pacific)

CHAP Tribal Advisory Group (TAG) Meeting

Nov. 22, 2022 (8:00 AM Pacific)

IHS Director’s Advisory Workgroup on Tribal Consultation Meeting (virtual)

Nov. 29, 2022 (12:00 PM Pacific)

Center for Indigenous Innovation and Health Equity Tribal Advisory Committee

Nov. 29, 2022 (1:00 PM Pacific)

Tribal Briefing for White House Tribal Nations Summit — Washington, D.C.

Briefing Registration

Nov. 30 – Dec. 1, 2022

White House Tribal Nations Summit

Tribal Leader Registration

Dec. 1, 2022 (12:00 PM Pacific)

IHS December All Tribal and Urban Indian Organizational Leaders Call

Dec. 6-7, 2022

Tribal Leaders Diabetes Committee (TLDC) Quarterly Meeting — Phoenix, AZ

Dec. 12, 2022

IHS National TAC on Behavioral Health Meeting

Dec. 15, 2022 (12:00 PM Pacific)

IHS DSTAC December Monthly Call

Dec. 16, 2022

FY23 Continuing Appropriations Resolution expires

Jan. 3, 2023

118^th Congress convenes

Federal Health Agency and Congress Tracker (FHACT) An ongoing list of Dear Tribal Leader Letters, Federal agency actions, and legislation introduced in the 117th Congress related to health.

An ongoing tracker of COVID-19 direct and set-aside funding for Tribes. Updated as of Aug. 2, 2021.

Legislative Updates

Continuing Appropriations and Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act (H.R. 6833. As previously noted, Congress passed a stopgap funding bill to prevent a government shutdown on Oct. 1, 2022. This bill maintains federal funding through Dec. 16, 2022 with a number of notable increases. This includes an additional $17.9 million for the Indian Health Service for the operations and costs of staffing new facilities in FY 2022 and 2023; $63 million to SAMHSA for the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline; and $1 billion for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). 

• Update: With FY 2023 funding for federal programs being maintained under the continuing appropriations resolution (“C.R.”) through Dec. 16^th, appropriators are currently working on another “omnibus” package that will include all 12 FY 2023 appropriations bills.

Tribal Consultation Updates

CDC, IHS and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to hold listening session on Tribal Alcohol-Impaired Driving Prevention Initiative. CDC, IHS and NHTSA would like to learn from American Indian and Alaska Native tribes, tribal leaders and tribal organizations about ways to reduce alcohol-impaired driving. They would like to hear from tribal leaders and others working in tribal transportation safety or who have been impacted by alcohol-impaired driving.

• Session 2: Nov. 15 at 10:00 AM Pacific – registration link.

USDA initiated tribal consultation on five proposed rule revisions to food and nutrition services. USDA Secretary Vilsack convened consultation on Nov. 8 to receive information and feedback on five proposed rule revisions in the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR), Special Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), Child Nutrition Programs (CNP), and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Refer to Dear Tribal Leader Letter, here.

• Written comments due by Nov. 23, 2022 to [email protected].

Administration for Children and Families (ACF) hosts Annual Tribal Consultation. ACF hosted its Annual Tribal Consultation on Oct. 31 in conjunction with the NCAI Annual Convention in Sacramento, California. ACF seeks Tribal leader input on ACF programs and services impacting the economic and social well-being of Tribal families, children, individuals, and communities. Written comments due by Nov. 30, 2022 to [email protected].

• You can find the Dear Tribal Leader Letter, here.

IHS and Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Tribal Consultation. VHA and IHS hosted an in-person consultation on the Draft Annual Operational Plan for fiscal year (FY) 2022 for the VHA-IHS Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Sep. 27 at the NIHB Conference in Washington, DC. Written comments are due Nov. 30, 2022 to [email protected] and [email protected] with subject line: Draft Annual Operational Plan.

• View the Dear Tribal Leader Letter initiating Tribal Consultation on the FY 2022 Draft Annual Operational Plan regarding the VHA-IHS MOU here.
• View the Draft Annual Operational Plan for the FY 2022 VHA-IHS Memorandum of Understanding here.
• View the VHA-IHS MOU, updated in October 2021.

Census Bureau to conducted two Tribal Consultations on Detailed Demographic and Housing Characteristics. The U.S. Census Bureau conducted two tribal consultations on the Detailed Demographic and Housing Characteristics File A (DHC-A) and Detailed Demographic and Housing Characteristics File B (Detailed DHC-B). The first tribal consultation took place on Oct. 18 in Anchorage, AK. The second tribal consultation took place on Oct. 31in Sacramento, CA. The deadline date for input is Nov. 30, 2022.

• View the Census Bureau Federal Register Notice here

U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) initiated consultation with federally recognized American Indian and Alaska Native tribes on two proposed rules. Institutional Review Boards – Cooperative Research and Protection of Human Subjects and Institutional Review Boards. These proposed rules were published in the Federal Register on September 28, 2022 and are intended to further harmonization with the Federal Policy for the Protection of Human Subjects (the "Common Rule").

• Written comments to be submitted by Dec. 28, 2022; see federal register notices, here: 1 & 2.

Tribal Consultation on draft HHS Tribal Consultation Policy. HHS is opening a 60-day comment period to the updated HHS Tribal Consultation Policy. Comments and recommendations are due Jan. 6, 2023 to [email protected]. Once HHS received all comments, they will reconvene the STAC Workgroup to review the comments. In addition, the updated Policy will go through an internal HHS clearance process. Secretary Becerra’s goal is to have an updated Policy signed in early 2023.

• Dear Tribal Leader Letter | HHS Tribal Consultation Policy draft – Redline / Clean.

Administrative and Regulatory Updates

President Biden Proclaims November 2022 as National Native American Heritage Month, NPAIHB Chairman Nickolaus Lewis Invited to White House Celebration. On October 31, 2022, President Biden issued a proclamation to recognize November 2022 as National Native American Heritage Month. In his proclamation, President Biden urged all Americans, as well as their elected representatives at the Federal, State, and local levels, to observe this month with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities, and to celebrate Nov. 25, 2022, as Native American Heritage Day. NPAIHB Chairman Nickolaus Lewis was invited by First Lady Dr. Jill Biden to a celebration of Native American Heritage Month to be held at the White House on Nov. 15, 2022.

• View LIVE Feed on Tuesday, Nov. 15 at 2:30 PM Pacific: First Lady Jill Biden Hosts the First Reception in Honor and Celebration of Native American Heritage
• Read the President’s Proclamation on National Native American Heritage Month, 2022
• View various events, collections, and online exhibitions celebrating Native American Heritage Month.

White House Announced 2022 White House Tribal Nations Summit on November 30^th and December 1^st, 2022. The summit will take place at the Department of the Interior in Washington, D.C. Additional details are forthcoming. Registration for the 2022 White House Tribal Nations Summit was due by Nov. 14th, 2022. Due to limited capacity, the White House can only accommodate one governmental representative per Tribe. View DTLL, here.

• Tribal Leaders register here: https://www.whitehouse.gov/iga/tribal-nations-summit/
• Native Americans in Philanthropy funding to support travel stipend to WH Summit.
• If you have any questions, please reach out to [email protected].
• Tribal briefing for Tribal Leaders and their technical advisors to be held Nov. 29, 2022 in Washington, D.C. at the Capitol Hilton – Register for Tribal Briefing

IHS Expands Telehealth Services Across Federal Facilities. In a press release dated October 31, 2022, IHS announced the expansion of telehealth across IHS federal facilities with the deployment of AA RingMD, a cloud-based platform that enables patient-to-provider and provider-to-provider telehealth meetings. IHS awarded a clinical video telehealth contract to AA RingMD in July 2021 and has been working on its implementation since that time. IHS clinicians and support staff at federal facilities can now use the secure system.

• View the IHS Press Release here

Biden-Harris Administration Announces Lower Premiums for Medicare Advantage and Prescription Drug Plans in 2023, CMS Releases Key Information. On Sep. 29, the Administration announced that people with Medicare will see lower premiums for Medicare Advantage and Medicare Part D prescription drug plans in 2023. Additionally, because of the Inflation Reduction Act, people with Medicare prescription drug coverage will have improved and more affordable benefits, including a $35 cost-sharing limit on a month’s supply of each covered insulin product, as well as adult vaccines that are recommended by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) at no additional cost. Medicare Open Enrollment runs from Oct. 15 to Dec. 7, 2022. Ahead of the upcoming Medicare Open Enrollment period, CMS is releasing key information, including 2023 premiums and deductibles for Medicare Advantage and Medicare Part D prescription drug plans, to help Medicare enrollees determine the best coverage for their needs.

• View the HHS Press Release Announcing Lower Premiums for Medicare Advantage and Prescription Drug Plans in 2023 here.
• View state-specific information, important dates and enrollment resources for Medicare Advantage and Part D in 2023 here.

HHS Office on Women’s Health Seeks Women’s Health Champions. The HHS Office on Women's Health (OWH) invites organizations to apply to become a Women's Health Champion during National Women's Blood Pressure Awareness Week (NWBPAW), National Eating Disorder Awareness Week (NEDAW), National Women and Girls' HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NWGHAAD), National Women's Health Week (NWHW), and/or other OWH observances. Any organization may apply to become a Women's Health Champion. The selected Women's Health Champions may be recognized for their commitment and their work toward achieving the goals of the observance(s). Letters of interest are currently being accepted and will be reviewed periodically.

• View the HHS Notice on OMH Observance Champions here.

Call for Nominations for Treasury Secretary Appointment to Treasury Tribal Advisory Committee. The Treasury Tribal Advisory Committee (TTAC) was established pursuant to the Tribal General Welfare Exclusion Act of 2014 to advise the Secretary of the Treasury on matters related to the taxation of Indians, training and education for Internal Revenue Service (IRS) field agents who administer and enforce internal revenue laws with respect to Indian tribes, and training and technical assistance for tribal financial officers. One vacancy exists on the TTAC. Applications for appointment by the Secretary to the TTAC or the names and qualifications of individuals you would recommend for appointment to the TTAC by the Secretary are due Nov. 17.

• View the Federal Register Notice: “Call for Nominations for Secretary Appointment to Treasury Tribal Advisory Committee” here.

NIHB Leads Legislative Call-to-Action for IHS Advance Appropriations. NIHB is coordinating a coalition of tribes, tribal organizations, and other partners to work with Congress and the Administration to include fiscal year (FY) 2024 advance appropriations for IHS in any final agreement on the FY 2023 appropriation bills. Tribal leaders, tribal organizations, Tribal Area Health Directors, Area Indian Health Boards, and non-tribal organization friends of Indian health are encouraged to get involved in the discussion and advocacy efforts. To succeed, it requires a coordinated effort from tribes, advocacy organizations, the public, members of Congress, and the White House. The next partner coalition check-ins take place Friday, Nov. 18 and Wednesday, Nov. 23.

• Sign up to participate in weekly partner coalition check-ins here.
• Visit the NIHB webpage on IHS Advance Appropriations.

For more information:

Laura Platero, Executive Director 

Liz Coronado, Senior Policy Advisor

Candice Jimenez, Health Policy Specialist

Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board | Website