Covering Indian Country – March 2024

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services: Covering Indian Country

March 2024

Spotlight: Promoting telehealth

Front cover of resource titled Telehealth: What to Know for Your Family

Using telehealth to deliver services covered by Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) can help advance health equity.

To that end, CMS has released a State Medicaid & CHIP Telehealth Toolkit (PDF, 2.3 MB, 92 pp), which includes strategies to improve access to services provided via telehealth for American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/ANs).

The toolkit suggests that states consider allowing the use of non-video, audio-only communication with people living in tribal and rural areas where internet access may not be reliable. It also recommends that states work with tribal programs to:

  • Better understand the services currently provided via telehealth and the modalities used to deliver those services
  • Make it easier for family members or tribal health care navigators to initiate, facilitate, or participate in a beneficiary’s telehealth appointment

Using telehealth to deliver services covered by Medicaid and CHIP can help advance health equity.

Additionally, the toolkit includes a list of actions health care professionals can take before, during, and after a telehealth appointment to help AI/AN Medicaid and CHIP beneficiaries feel more comfortable when receiving services via telehealth.

For more information to help Medicaid and CHIP beneficiaries better understand how to use telehealth, be sure to download and share Telehealth: What to Know for Your Family (PDF, 3.3 MB, 9 pp).

The booklet explains how to schedule and prepare for a telehealth appointment, what to expect during the appointment, and how to get follow-up care after the appointment.

March: National Nutrition Month

An adult shops for fruit as a child in a shopping cart watches. Text reads, "Celebrate National Nutrition Month! Choose healthier food options for you and your loved ones. Sometimes it can be difficult to make good food choices, but there are many resources that can help. For more information on healthy eating, please visit IHS.gov/diabetes"

Share this ad in your newsletter or on your website. For more information, please visit CMS’s Outreach and Education Resources page.

Public service announcements

Share these brief audio clips and videos, available in Native languages and English, on your local radio station, website, and Facebook page.

SoundcloudAudio clips



YoutubeVideos

New 2023 twitter logo x icon designPost it

Trying to eat healthier? Get some tips from your local Indian health care provider today!

https://youtu.be/46TMi54oD1Y

#CMSNativeHealth

Resources about health care coverage

A collage of two resources: (1) Tribal version of Roadmap to Better Care; (2) 10 Important Facts About Indian Health Service and Health Insurance

Download these resources or order copies on the Tribal Products Ordering page. Please allow 2 weeks for your order to be completed.

 

Health observances

March is National Nutrition Month

In observance of National Nutrition Month, download and share articles on the topic of Indigenous food sovereignty.

Published last fall in Health Promotion Practice, the articles reference several examples of how food sovereignty can help advance health equity in Indian Country. The examples include:

Colon cancer awareness

Blue Beads Day logo

March is National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, and this year, Blue Beads Day is March 21. Both health observances highlight the importance of finding and removing growths in the colon before they turn into cancer.

Help promote colon cancer prevention by encouraging people in your network to take the Blue Beads screening pledge.

Also share the American Indian Cancer Foundation’s social media toolkit (PDF, 9.6 MB, 9 pp).

Additional resources

NIHB’s call for SDPI poster session proposals

Special Diabetes Program for Indians logo from NIHB's call for proposals

March 15 is the deadline to submit proposals to the National Indian Health Board (NIHB) for a Special Diabetes Program for Indians (SDPI) poster session at this year’s National Tribal Health Conference in Rapid City, South Dakota.

The poster session will take place May 20, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Mountain time.

SDPI grantees whose proposals are selected will have until April 19 to submit their final posters.

Funding opportunities

IHS Tribal Management Grant Program

Deadline: March 14
View the IHS Tribal Management Grant Program funding opportunity

Indian Health Service (IHS) funds are available for projects to develop and enhance health management infrastructure. Tribes and tribal organizations may submit applications for one of the following project types:

  • Feasibility study
  • Planning
  • Evaluation study
  • Health management structure

Approximately 14–16 awards of up to $150,000 each will be issued.

SAMHSA Minority Fellowships

Deadline: March 15, at 11:59 p.m. Hawaii-Aleutian Standard Time
View the SAMHSA funding opportunity

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is offering one-year fellowships to psychiatry residents who are committed to addressing inequities in mental health. The fellowship program is intended to:

  • Increase racial/ethnic diversity in the behavioral health workforce
  • Train psychiatrists to more effectively serve people of different cultural and ethnic backgrounds

Up to 30 fellowships will be awarded. Native people are encouraged to apply.

USDA funds for traditional foods in schools

Deadline: April 8
View the USDA traditional foods funding opportunity

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service will fund regionally focused training and technical assistance to promote the inclusion of traditional foods in school nutrition programs.

As many as four cooperative agreements of up to $500,000 each will be awarded.

Calendar of events

Indigenous Women’s Health Meeting

March 13–15
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Learn more about the Indigenous Women’s Health Meeting

Clinicians, healers, elders, and community members should plan to attend the Eighth Indigenous Women’s Health Meeting, which will highlight care models and community-based public health approaches to promote wellness. Topics will include trauma-informed care, substance use, and more.

2024 Protecting Our Children Conference banner

Protecting Our Children Conference

April 7–10
Seattle, with the option to attend virtually
Register for the Protecting Our Children Conference

The title of the 42nd annual Protecting Our Children Conference is “Together We Stand: Preserving the Spirit of ICWA.” Sponsored by the National Indian Child Welfare Association, the conference is geared toward social service providers, legal professionals, advocates for children, and tribal and federal leaders.

Tribal Self-Governance Conference

April 15–18
Chandler, Arizona
Register for the Tribal Self-Governance Conference

Federal partners, tribal leaders, tribal officials, and people who work closely with tribal communities are encouraged to attend this year’s Tribal Self-Governance Conference. Topics covered include tackling substance abuse and moving toward climate resiliency.

NCUIH annual conference

April 29–May 2
Washington, DC
Register for the NCUIH annual conference

The theme of this year’s National Council of Urban Indian Health (NCUIH) annual conference is “Sustaining Traditions: Culture, Identity, and Health.” Health care professionals, policymakers, and community leaders are encouraged to attend.

Banner for 2024 National Council of Urban Indian Health annual conference

NIHB National Tribal Health Conference

May 20–23
Rapid City, South Dakota
Register for the NIHB National Tribal Health Conference

“Tribal Health Equity on Our Terms” is the theme of this year’s National Indian Health Board (NIHB) National Tribal Health Conference. Tribal leaders, public health professionals, policy specialists, advocates, and allies are encouraged to attend.

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Do you have news to share? Send it to coveringic@kauffmaninc.com for possible inclusion in an upcoming newsletter. Contact us with other comments or feedback, too.

About the newsletter

Covering Indian Country is published by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Division of Tribal Affairs to share resources, success stories, and best practices with the people who connect tribal communities to health care coverage.


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