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Week of January 6, 2025

HHS Soliciting Nominations for the Secretary's Tribal Advisory Committee (STAC)

HHS is seeking nominations to serve as Primary and Alternate Delegates in areas with open seats on the STAC. The STAC Delegates – representing each of the twelve IHS Areas and National At-Large positions – engage with HHS leadership on healthcare priorities and policies impacting Tribes and AI/AN populations. The vacancies open for nomination and their terms are:

1. Albuquerque Area Alternate (1-year term)

2. Bemidji Area Primary and Alternate (2-year terms)

3. Billings Area Primary (1-year term)

4. California Area Primary and Alternate (2-year terms)

5. Nashville Area Primary and Alternate (2-year terms)

6. Navajo Area Primary and Alternate (2-year terms)

7. Oklahoma Area Primary and Alternate (2-year terms)

8. Portland Area Primary and Alternate (2-year terms)

9. Tucson Area Primary and Alternate (2-year terms)

10. National At-Large Primary Delegate (3) (2-year terms)

11. National At-Large Alternate Delegate (1) (2-year term)

All nominees must either be elected or appointed Tribal officials acting in their official capacity as elected officials of their Tribes or be designated by an elected Tribal official with the designee having authority to act on behalf of the Tribal official. Nominations must be made by an elected or appointed official from a federally recognized Tribe acting in his or her official capacity. Nominations are requested by January 16, 2025, and may be submitted to STAC@hhs.gov. Please see this Dear Tribal Leader Letter for full details.

IHS Announces New Methodology for Contract Support Costs on Third-Party Reimbursements

On December 20, 2024, the Indian Health Service (IHS) Director wrote to Tribal Leaders to announce a new methodology for calculating Contract Support Costs (CSC) on expenditures of third-party reimbursements, following the U.S. Supreme Court's June 6, 2024, decision in Becerra v. San Carlos Apache Tribe and Becerra v. Northern Arapaho Tribe. This decision results from extensive Tribal Consultation sessions held in September and October 2024, where over 70 written comments were received from Tribes and Tribal Organizations. The Contract Support Costs Advisory Group (CSCAG) also played a crucial role, meeting six times between June and November 2024 to discuss implementation issues and provide recommendations.

The new methodology is effective immediately. IHS has provided a template and certification form to estimate eligible CSC for anticipated expenditures of program income (third-party reimbursements). These tools will also be used in final reconciliations of CSC incurred by Tribes and Tribal Organizations and may assist in resolving Contract Disputes Act claims. In the coming months, IHS will offer updates and CSC-specific training to assist in using these tools. For questions about this implementation, please contact Ms. Johnnita Tsabetsaye, Director, Contract Support Costs, Office of Direct Service and Contracting Tribes, IHS, at johnnita.tsabetsaye@ihs.gov. Learn more here.

House and Senate members of the 119th Congress were sworn in on Friday, January 3. Mike Johnson (R-LA-4) was elected Speaker of the House and Senator John Thune began his first term as the Senate Majority Leader. Congressional Republicans plan to initiate the process for Budget Reconciliation, which is a special process requiring only a simple majority (instead of the usual 60 votes in the Senate) to pass. This bill would incorporate border security, the extension of expiring tax cuts, and an increase in the nation’s borrowing limit coupled with spending cuts, among other things. It is entirely possible that Medicaid reform – potentially block-granting Medicaid to the states - will be one of the policies enacted to generate savings. It is unclear if reconciliation would come in two bills or one, but President-elect Trump has indicated that he just wants priorities passed as soon as possible.

Today, Vice President Kamala Harris presided over a joint session of Congress to certify the votes for President-elect Trump from the previous year’s general election. Former President Jimmy Carter will lie in state in the Capitol Rotunda from the afternoon of January 7 through the morning of January 9 followed by a state funeral before he will be interred in Plains, Georgia. President Trump's inauguration will be on January 20, which is also Martin Luther King Jr. Day this year. 

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to lead HHS will meet with Senate HELP Committee Chair Senator Bill Cassidy and Senate Finance Committee Chair Senator Chuck Grassley. The confirmation hearing of RFK Jr. has not been scheduled at this time. 

Of the 16 Indian Affairs bills that the Senate passed this session, four became law, one of which is H.R. 663. Native American Child Protection Act (H.R. 663) introduced by Representative Gallego (D-Ariz.), creates a path for direct, set-aside funding for Tribes to treat and prevent child abuse by reauthorizing three programs at the IHS and BIA, which were created in the 1990s by Senator McCain (R-Ariz.) after Congress verified reports of Native children being physically and sexually abused in federal Indian boarding schools.

This bill broadened the language of the original program and has expanded the Advisory Board for the National Indian Child Resource and Family Services Center from 7 members to 12 members. The bill does not include any new funding for the program.

The 119th Congress combined calendars for 2025 are available here. There are no hearings currently scheduled for this week.

Please contact NIHB’s Congressional Relations team for more information at wdavis@nihb.org and tbarrett@nihb.org.  

IHS January 2 Letter: The IHS Director writes to announce the appointment of Dr. Chris Poole to serve as the Director of the Bemidji Area Indian Health Service.

IHS December 27 Letter: The IHS Director writes to announce the new solicitation for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 Indian Health Service (IHS) Long-Term Care Joint Venture Construction Program (JVCP). This IHS FY 2025 JVCP is exclusively for long-term care facilities. 

IHS December 26 Letter: The IHS Director will proceed with the competitive grant funding distribution method for the Community Opioid Intervention and Prevention Program (COIPP)

IHS December 26 Letter: The IHS Director, along with the Assistant Secretary for Health ADM Rachael M. Levine, MD, write to share information about the joint efforts being made by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health and the Indian Health Service to address the escalating cases of syphilis and congenital syphilis in our Tribal communities

IHS December 20 Letter: The IHS Director writes to provide our decision on how the Indian Health Service (IHS) will calculate Contract Support Costs (CSC) on expenditures of third-party reimbursements and provide next steps.

IHS December 19 Letter: The IHS Director writes to initiate Tribal Consultation regarding Indian Health Service (IHS) proposals to streamline floodplain impact review processes for certain routine or recurring actions, known as “repetitive actions,” associated with construction projects sited within a floodplain.

IHS December 12 Letter: The IHS Director writes today to reaffirm the commitment of the Indian Health Service to protecting our patients and improving the Purchased/Referred Care program

IHS DTLLs for Year 2024

Consultations

SAMHSA Consultation on Tribal Consultation Policy

Comments Due: Please send comments to otap@samhsa.hhs.gov by 5:00 PM ET on January 6, 2025

HUD/IHS Housing-related Infrastructure for Tribal Communities Tribal Consultation

Dear Tribal Leader Letter

Comments Due: January 8, 2024

Comment Submission: consultation@hud.gov and consultation@ihs.gov, subject line “HUD/IHS Housing-related Infrastructure for Tribal Communities.”

U.S. Census Bureau Virtual Tribal Consultation on Updating the Race/Ethnicity Code List for the American Community Survey and the 2030 Census

Date: January 15, 2025, 3:00 - 4:30 PM ET

Meeting Link

NIH Consultation on Disposition of Biospecimens Collected from Tribal Populations

Dear Tribal Leader Letter

Consultation Framing Letter

Comments Due: Written testimony (recognized by the use of official Tribal letterhead) by January 20, 2025 to NIHTribalConsultation@nih.gov

IHS Consultation on the Floodplain Class Review Process

Dear Tribal Leader Letter

Proposed IHS Floodplain Class Review Project List

Consultation: January 22, 2025 at 2:00 pm Eastern Time

Zoom Link

Comments Due: Please email your written comments and recommendations to consultation@ihs.gov, with the SUBJECT LINE: Floodplain Class Review. The comment submission deadline for this Tribal Consultation is February 17, 2025.

Tribal Advisory Committee Meetings

Direct Service Tribes Advisory Committee (DSTAC) Monthly Call

Date: January 16, 2025, 3:00-4:00 PM ET

Meeting Website

National Tribal Budget Formulation Workgroup Area Report Webinar

Date: January 22, 2:00-4:00 PM ET & January 23, 2:00-4:00 PM ET

Day One Meeting Website

Day Two Meeting Website

FY 2027 National Tribal Budget Formulation Work Session

Date: February 11-12, 2025

Meeting Website

Direct Service Tribes Advisory Committee (DSTAC) 2^nd Quarterly Meeting

Date: February 13, 2025

Meeting Website

CMS Open Enrollment Webinar Series

• January 8, 2025 at 3:00 – 4:00 PM ET
• January 29, 2025 at 3:00 – 4:00 PM ET

Meeting Registration Link

Social Security Administration Webinar: Getting to know the Social Security Income (SSI) Program

• January 22, 2025, at 11:00 AM EST Registration Link
• January 29, 2025, at 2:30 PM EST Registration Link  

IHS Tribal Management Grant Program | Click Here to Learn More

Application deadline: January 13, 2025

Description: IHS is now accepting applications for a competitive grant for federally recognized tribes and tribal organizations that is administered by the Office of Direct Service and Contracting Tribes. The Tribal Management Grant Program is designed to enhance and develop health management infrastructure and assist tribes and tribal organizations in assuming all or part of existing IHS programs, functions, services, and activities through agreements under the Indian Self Determination and Education Assistance Act. It also aims to assist tribes and tribal organizations with existing agreements to further develop and improve their management capability.

Pediatric Pulmonary Centers Program | Click Here to Learn More

Application Deadline: February 18, 2025

Award Amount: Up to $340,000

Description: The purpose of the PPC program is to provide interdisciplinary training to improve the health of infants, children, and adolescents with chronic respiratory conditions, sleep issues, and other related special health care needs.

FY25 IHS Tribal Self-Gov Planning & Negotiation Cooperative Agreements | Click Here to Learn More

Application Deadline: February 19, 2025

Description: The awards support tribes and tribal organizations with the planning and preparation necessary to assume responsibility for providing health care to their tribal members through the Tribal Self-Governance Program. For more information, contact Jessaka Nakai at Jessaka.Nakai@ihs.gov or 301-526-6624. 

Scholarships for Disadvantaged Students | Click Here to Learn More

Application Deadline: February 19, 2025

Description: The Scholarships for Disadvantaged Students (SDS) program increases diversity in the health professions and nursing workforce by providing awards to eligible health professions schools for use in awarding scholarships to students from disadvantaged backgrounds who have financial need, including students who are members of racial and ethnic minority groups.

Tribal Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program Grants | Click Here to Learn More

Application Deadline: March 17, 2025

Award Amount: Up to $1,000,000

Description: The grant will support 5-year cooperative agreements between ACF and federally recognized Indian tribes (or a consortium of Indian tribes), tribal organizations, or urban Indian organizations interested in developing, implementing, sustaining, or expanding an evidence-based home visiting program serving expectant families and families with young children aged birth to kindergarten. Additionally, awards will support the implementation of high-quality, culturally grounded, evidence-based home visiting services to American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) families and children; implementation of performance measurement and continuous quality improvement systems; development of early childhood systems; and participation in research and evaluation activities to build evidence around home visiting, particularly in Tribal communities

Long-term Care Joint Venture Construction Program | Click Here to Learn More

Application Deadline: Phase I Application due on close of business, April 10, 2025

Description: Under the LTC JVCP, federally recognized American Indian and Alaska Native Tribes construct a Tribal-owned Long Term Care, Skilled Nursing Facility, or Long-term Home facility using non-IHS funds that meets IHS design criteria and approval. In exchange, IHS will enter into a 20-year nominal lease for the facility and request annual appropriations for the operation and maintenance of the facility during the lease period. Additional priority is to be given to Tribes who agree to fund the initial equipment portion of the project.

National Indian Health Board | www.nihb.org | 202-507-4070