NPAIHB Legislative and Policy Update

Monday, January 10, 2022

Important Dates

Jan 10, 2022 (11:00 AM Pacific)

MMPC Monthly Meeting

Jan 10, 2022 (12:00 PM Pacific)

NIHB Town Hall on Congressional Appropriations, Advance Appropriations, and Build Back Better

Zoom Link

Jan 12, 2022 (11:00 AM Pacific)

IHS Director’s Advisory Workgroup on Tribal Consultation Meeting

Jan 12, 2022 (11:30 AM Pacific)

TTAG Conference Call

Jan 12, 2022 (1:00 PM Pacific)

CMS Tribal Consultation with Washington State Tribes – DHATs

Zoom Link

Jan 13, 2022 (10:00 AM Pacific)

HHS Consultation on Draft Strategic Plan

Zoom Link

Jan 13, 2022 (11:00 AM Pacific)

CDC/ATSDR Tribal Advisory Committee Monthly Meeting

Jan 13, 2022 (11:30 AM Pacific)

VA Listening Session – Updated Reimbursement Agreement

Adobe Link

Jan 18-20, 2022

NPAIHB Quarterly Board Meeting

Jan 19, 2022 (12:00 PM Pacific)

CMS TTAG on Behavioral Health

Jan 20, 2022 (12:00 PM Pacific)

DSTAC Monthly Meeting

Jan 24-27, 2022

ATNI Virtual Winter Convention

Jan 25, 2022 (3:00 PM Pacific)

Delegate and THD Monthly Workgroup Meeting

Jan 25-27, 2022 (10:00 AM Pacific)

VA Advisory Committee on Tribal and Indian Affairs Meeting

Zoom Registration

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.

Tribal Consultation Updates

IHS Tribal Consultation on Additional Funding. IHS has hosted three tribal consultation sessions on the allocation of an additional $210 million to the IHS from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 for public health workforce activities, $3.5 billion for sanitation facilities under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and the $2.35 billion under consideration by Congress in the Build Back Better Act. 

• Written Comments are due Jan. 21, 2022 to [email protected]
• FY 2019 Portland Area Sanitation Deficiency Projects
• Portland Area Sanitation Deficiency System Data

CMS Tribal Consultation with Washington State Tribes. CMS will be conducting tribal consultation on Jan. 12, 2022 at 1-2 pm Pacific with Washington state Tribes to discuss the use of a 1115 demonstration waiver for Medicaid reimbursement of dental services provided by Dental Health Aide Therapists (DHATs). This consultation will be conducted during the Washington Health Care Authority and Department of Health monthly tribal meeting in January.

• Zoom Link for Jan. 12 CMS Consultation
• NPAIHB and AIHC Joint Letter on DHAT 1115 Waiver Amendment

Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)/Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Tribal Listening Sessions. The VA will host two listening sessions regarding updating the VA’s Indian Health Service/Tribal Health Program (IHS/THP) Reimbursement Agreement Program (RAP) to include reimbursement for Purchased/Referred Care and patient travel. Inclusion of PRC into the program will require adopting a revised agreement template.

• 2^nd Session on Updated Reimbursement Agreement Template: Jan. 13, 2022 at 11:30 AM – 1:30 PM Pacific; Adobe Connect Link
• Written Comments are due Feb. 13, 2022 to [email protected]

HHS Extends Consultation on the Draft Strategic Plan. HHS Acting Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) announced a tribal consultation session on Jan. 13, 2022 at 10 am Pacific on the draft HHS Strategic Plan for FY 2022-2026. 

• Registration Link for Jan. 13 Consultation Session
• Written comments deadline extended to Jan. 6, 2022
• NPAIHB Comment Letter on HHS Draft Strategic Plan  

Administrative and Regulatory Updates

CMS Announces Reinstatement of COVID-19 Vaccination Requirement.  On Dec. 28, 2021, CMS announced enforcement of the vaccine mandate rule for providers and facilities in certain states, including Washington and Oregon. CMS previously issued an emergency rule imposing COVID-19 vaccination requirements on only 21 participating Medicare and Medicaid providers and suppliers, including Medicare certified Federally Qualified Health Centers. To determine if you are a Medicare certified Federally Qualified Health Center that is subject to the rule, you can look up your facility on the QCOR here: https://qcor.cms.gov/main.jsp.

• CMS Omnibus COVID-19 Health Care Staff Vaccination FAQs

CMS Tribal Leader Trainings. In partnership with NIHB, CMS will be hosting 14 Tribal Leader trainings starting in January through April 2022 on programs and benefits available through Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP, and the Marketplace. 

• Save the Date CMS Tribal Leader Trainings

FDA Approves First Injectable Treatment for HIV Pre-Exposure Prevention. Last month, the FDA approved Apretude for use in at-risk adults and adolescents for pre-exposure prophylaxis to reduce the risk of HIV. This medication will be administered as an injection every two months which is an important tool to combat the HIV epidemic that would not require taking daily pills for HIV treatment. 

HRSA Provider Relief Fund Updates. Last month, HRSA released a Dear Tribal Leader Letter announcing that HRSA started to distribute approximately $9 billion in Phase 4 payments of the Provider Relief Fund (PRF) to healthcare providers for revenue losses and expenses. Just a reminder that the PRF Reporting Portal opened on January 1, 2022 and will remain open through March 31, 2022 for Reporting Period 2.  

IHS Portland Area Office Request for Staff Quarter Projects. IHS Portland Area Office is accepting Requests for Funding for planning, design, and construction of staff housing (quarters). The due date is close of business on February 18, 2022. Please submit requests directly to CAPT Jason Lovett at the Portland Area Office at [email protected]. 

• FY 2022 Quarters Construction Fund Application Guidelines
• Detailed background information available here.

GAO Tribal Advisory Committee. The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), an independent, nonpartisan agency that advises Congress on how to make the federal government more efficient, ethical, equitable, and responsible, is standing up a Tribal Advisory Committee. GAO will be coordinating with the Self-Governance Communication and Education Tribal Consortium to support the establishment of the fifteen member Tribal Advisory Committee. For more information, please contact Jay Spaan at [email protected].  

For more information Laura Platero, Executive Director

Lisa L. Griggs, Executive and Program Ops Assistant | Candice Jimenez, Health Policy Specialist | Liz Coronado, Health Policy Specialist

Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board npaihb.org