March 5, 2021 | Issue 21-07 |
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NIHB submits Testimony to the House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee for Telehealth Hearing
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The Health Subcommittee hearing, held on March 2, focused on how to leverage the advances in telehealth made as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic beyond the public health emergency. Witnesses testified that telehealth has the capacity to increase access and quality of care when it comes to chronic health conditions, especially in areas where healthcare services can be limited, such as rural and Tribal communities.
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Hope MacDonald LoneTree appointed Deputy Commissioner of the Administration for Native Americans |
On March 2, Hope MacDonald LoneTree, a former Navajo Nation Council delegate, started her new position as Deputy Commissioner of the Administration for Native Americans. In this new role, LoneTree will help oversee discretionary grant funding for community-based projects, and training and technical assistance to eligible Tribes and Native organizations. Read the full article in the Navajo Times here.
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UPDATES FROM THE FEDERAL & STATE ADMINISTRATIONS |
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HHS Dear Tribal Leader Letter on Consultation |
On March 2, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published a Dear Tribal Leader Letter seeking input from Tribal leaders on improvements that can be made to HHS’ policies and practices for consultation with Indian Country. During March 2021, HHS is holding six different consultation sessions for Tribal representatives and Tribal leaders to provide recommendations on the department’s Tribal Consultation Policy. These sessions will offer discussions on strengthening of the Tribal Consultation Policy and Process, Communication and outreach with program changes, the improvement of the annual regional Tribal Consultations, and other comments and concerns from Tribes and Tribal Leaders. Information collected during these sessions will be shared and discussed with the Secretary’s Tribal Advisory Committee (STAC) and at the HHS Annual Tribal Budget Consultation in April. Comments and recommendations on HHS’s Tribal Consultation Policy are due March 26, 2021 and can be submitted to consultation@hhs.gov.
- Monday, March 22, 2021 (10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. ET): Region 1, 2, 3, & 4
- Monday, March 22, 2021 (2:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. ET): Region 5
- Tuesday, March 23, 2021 (2:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. ET): Region 7 & 8
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Wednesday, March 24, 2021 (10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. ET): Region 6
- Wednesday, March 24, 2021 (2:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. ET): Region 9
- Thursday, March 25, 2021 (2:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. ET): Region 10
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Additional Funding for CMS Navigators during the Special Enrollment Period |
On March 1, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced additional funding for Navigators to support the Special Enrollment Period (SEP) for the Marketplace. Specifically, $2.3 million is being added to the current 30 Navigator grantee organizations in Federally-facilitated Marketplace states in an effort to aid in outreach, education, and enrollment efforts for the 2021 SEP that terminates on May 15, 2021. Navigators are encouraged to determine how to best utilize this additional funding based on the previously approved plans that they submitted to CMS and current needs. This can include the addition of more staff to help more American Indians and Alaska Natives sign up for health insurance. The Navigator program will also be additionally funded in the spring to during the Navigator Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) grants for the future applicant pool. Enrollment Assisters, Patient Benefit Coordinators, and other individuals working in health care insurance enrollment are encouraged to identify if this additional funding may benefit you and your community. These grants will be awarded in advance of the upcoming Open Enrollment of plan year 2022.
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Notification of Enforcement from HHS |
On February 24, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published a notification of enforcement discretion to inform the public of how HHS will be exercising its discretion on the Privacy, Security, and Breach Notification Rules involving the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996 and the HIPAA rules when scheduling appointments for the COVID-19 vaccine during the pandemic. This notification will also include discretion on how HHS will apply the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act. Specifically, HHS Office of Civil Rights (OCR) will not impose any type of penalty against covered health care providers working in Tribal clinics or other healthcare facilities for noncompliance associated with the use of online scheduling appointments for the COVID-19 vaccine in their communities. This notification will better help clinic staff and providers by relieving the regulatory burden of unintended mistakes when scheduling vaccine appointments. This notification of enforcement discretion went into effect on December 11, 2020 and will last July 25, 2021 when the Public Health Emergency will either end or be reassessed.
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Information Collection Request from HRSA on Grants for Small Health Care Provider Quality Improvement Program |
On February 24, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) published a notice on an information collection request on the Small Health Care Provider Quality Improvement Program and the data collected through this program. Through this Federal Office of Rural Health Policy program, HRSA is able to issue grants that expand access to, coordinate, and improve the quality of essential health care services, including preventative and emergency services regarding the development of healthcare networks in rural and frontier areas. Specifically, the purpose of the Small Health Care Provider Quality Improvement Grant Program is to improve support for rural primary care providers by adding quality improvement activities into their practice in an effort to “promote the development of evidence-based culture and delivery of coordinated care.” The agency is interested in improving the data collection through this program to aid health care facilities and health care providers in rural and frontier areas in providing essential health care services to their patients. Health care facilities located in rural and frontier areas may qualify for this program and would be required to use evidence-based quality improvement models along with health information technology to collect and report data to improve their essential health care services. Comments on this information collection request are due April 26, 2021.
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Information Collection Request from CMS on an Update to the Home and Community Based Services Waivers and their Supporting Regulations |
On February 25, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) published a notice an information collection request on the “Annual Report on Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) Waivers and Supporting Regulations”. This report will be used to compare actual data to waiver estimates and information from this collection will then be compared to the Medicaid Statistical Information System and the federal and state financial data.. Communities using HCBS should submit the required data to CMS related to their HCBS programs in an effort to more effectively assess if their State, local and Tribal government waiver should be renewed. For more information on HCBS waivers, click here. Comments are due April 26, 2021.
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Final Rule, Interim Final Rule with Comment Period from CMS on the Medicare Program |
On February 25, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released a correction to a final rule with comment period and interim final rule. The December 29, 2020 final rule titled “Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment and Ambulatory Surgical Center Payment Systems and Quality Reporting Programs; New Categories for Hospital Outpatient Department Prior Authorization Process; Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule: Laboratory Date of Service Policy; Overall Hospital Quality Star Rating Methodology; Physician-owned Hospitals; Notice of Closure of Two Teaching Hospitals and Opportunity To Apply for Available Slots; Radiation Oncology Model; and Reporting Requirements for Hospitals and Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) to Report COVID-19 Therapeutic Inventory and Usage and to Report Acute Respiratory Illness During the Public Health Emergency (PHE) for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)” is being corrected for technical and typographical errors involving the Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System, the Ambulatory Surgical Center Payment System, Hospital Outpatient Quality Reporting Program and the Ambulatory Surgical Center Quality Reporting Program. This final rule details several different regulatory processes associated with the Medicare program that clarifies procedures and provisions necessary to aid health care facilities, health care providers, and other areas of the health care workforce in abiding by regulations set forth by CMS to provide communities with efficient, quality care. The corrections detailed in this notice are intended to clarify mistakes made to a previously published Medicare program final rule. This notice is intended for those associated with CMS’s regulatory measures in the healthcare workforce. These corrections are effective February 25, 2021, and are applicable on January 1, 2021.
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Information Collection Request from CMS on the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and the Merit-Based Incentive Payment Systems Survey |
On February 26, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released a notice on a collection request to support the implementation of the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers (CAHPS) for Merit-Based Incentive Payment Systems (MIPS) survey, adding a question on telehealth to address the Public Health Emergency and the patient-reported usage of telehealth services in an effort for telehealth to be processed under an emergency clearance through CMS programs. CMS is intending to incorporate this addition into their survey for calendar year 2021 to address the increased use of telehealthcare due to the COVID-19 public health emergency. Respondents to this information collection request would include virtual groups like vendors associated with health care facilities and beneficiaries who receive treatment from health care providers who currently administer and respond to the CAHPS survey. Comments on this collection request are due April 9, 2021.
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Upcoming Federal Tribal Consultations |
President Biden’s “Memorandum on Tribal Consultation and Strengthening Nation-to-Nation Relationships" is intended to strengthen the government's relationship with Tribes while encouraging federal agencies to consult with Tribes on all issues that impact Tribal Nations. In March, several federal agencies that directly impact Tribal health are holding Tribal consultation sessions and/or have deadlines related to their Tribal consultation plans. To see the full list click here.
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GRANTS, RESOURCES AND EVENTS |
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Tribal Public Health Summit: Call for Abstracts Open, Webinar March 10
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The National Indian Health Board (NIHB) is now accepting abstract submissions for its upcoming Tribal Public Health Summit which will be held virtually April 27th – 29th, 2021.
Every year the National Indian Health Board (NIHB) brings together public health practitioners, researchers, and policy experts to allow for conversation, mobilization, and strategy. This year is no different despite COVID-19. In fact, COVID-19 has made our work even more urgent and vital. The COVID-19 pandemic has illuminated, for all to see, the critical underfunding of the Indian Health Service (IHS) and the importance of improving Tribal public health infrastructure. We invite you to join us virtually, present your work, and kick off these important explorations.
Abstract submissions due by Friday, March 26, 2021.
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NIHB will be hosting a virtual Abstract Submission Webinar on March 10, 2021, from 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM Eastern Time to assist with the proposal submission process. This webinar will not only highlight best practices and NIHB requirements for submitting a conference proposal but will also cover other beneficial topics such as the components of a successful proposal, deadlines, and ways to make presentations more interactive and effective. |
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HRSA Region 7 Grants Workshop – March 8-9 |
The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Office of Regional Operations - Region 7 will host a Grants 101 workshop March 8-9 10:00 am to 1:30 pm Eastern Time each day. The workshop will cover the federal grant application process, federal funding opportunities, technical resources, and collaboration with foundations. Click here to register for the workshop. For more information, contact HRSAORORegion7@hrsa.gov
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UDSA Tribal Consultations |
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will hold Tribal consultation on March 9, 2021 and March 11, 2021, respectively, and will cover the “USDA Consultation on Consultations and Racial Equity.” USDA is also offering time for Tribal caucus where USDA staff will not participate.
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USDA Tribal Forest Partnership Workshop |
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The IHS is Hosting a Webinar Series for Community Health Representatives |
Beginning April 8, 2021, the Indian Health Service (IHS) will be conducting a series of one hour webinars for Community Health Representatives (CHR) every Thursday. This series will be in four parts and is primarily for non-clinical staff in positions involving behavioral and community health care, HIV, Hepatitis C, Substance use disorder, and 2SLGBTQ health services. Over the course of this four-day webinar series, the speakers will include Janet Cifuentes, PharmD, Heather Huentelman, Jessica Rienstra, BSN, RN and Rick Haverkate, MPH. Individuals with a passion for improving the health disparities of American Indians and Alaska Native people are encouraged to join.
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Visit the NIHB COVID-19 Tribal Resource Center at:
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