Addendum
On November 19, 2012, CMS and IHS jointly issued a Dear Tribal Leader letter seeking consultation on the Model Qualified Health Plan (QHP) Addendum for Indian health care providers. Written comments are due Wednesday, December 19th. Attached is the Dear Tribal Leader letter, the Addendum, and further information outlining the purpose and key provisions of the Addendum. A copy of the letter will be mailed to all 566 tribes and will be posted on the CMS website and the IHS website.
The Addendum is designed to facilitate the inclusion of Indian health care providers in the QHP provider networks. It was developed in response to comments made during previous tribal consultations as well as with input from the CMS Tribal Technical Advisory Group and the Indian Health Service. We anticipate that the Addendum will enable QHP issuers to contract more efficiently with Indian health care providers to help ensure that American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/AN)s can continue to be served by their Indian provider of choice. Although the Model QHP Addendum is not required, CMS will strongly encourage its use by QHPs.