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Posted April 29, 2021
NIHB Closes Tribal Public Health Summit with Public Health Innovation Awards Presentation
Today, the National Indian Health Board (NIHB), the only Tribal organization that represents solely the healthcare needs and interests of all 574 federally recognized Tribes, presented its annual Public Health Innovation Awards in three categories - national, regional and local - for outstanding work on COVID-19 response and vaccine distribution. Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez received the national award, the Confederated Tribes of Umatilla’s Yellowhawk Tribal Health Center received the regional award and the local award went to Vangie Natan with the White Mountain Apache Rainbow Treatment Center.
Read the full release
Posted April 28, 2021
NIHB Reminds Federal, Congressional Partners of Treaty Obligations at National Tribal Public Health Summit
At today’s National Indian Health Board (NIHB) virtual National Tribal Public Health Summit, plenary guest speakers, which included an official from the Administration for Native Americans and two members of Congress, each touched on three factors that impact Tribal public health: social determinants of health, health disparities and racism.
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Posted April 27, 2021
Federal Partners, Tribal Leaders, Native Youth Carry Messages of Resiliency, Overcoming COVID-19 Trauma at National Tribal Public Health Summit
The National Indian Health Board (NIHB) opened its annual National Tribal Public Health Summit with messages from federal agency partners, Tribal leaders and experts on Tribal public health. The annual Summit is the premier public health event dedicated to public health practice, innovation, policy and advocacy in Indian Country. Messages of resiliency and strength resonated throughout the opening plenary speakers’ words, and there was also an acknowledgement of the profound trauma that COVID-19 was left behind as it moved through Tribal communities.
Read the full release
Posted April 18, 2021
NIHB Chairman William Smith Testifies before the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs
On April 14, the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs held a hearing on "Examining the COVID-19 Response in Native Communities: Native Health System One Year Later." National Indian Health Board Chairman William Smith of the Valdez Native Tribe testified. Visit the Committee website for the full hearing recording. Read NIHB’s written testimony here.
Posted April 18, 2021
NIHB Joins NCAI Infrastructure Letter to Congress
On April 13, 2021, the National Indian Health Board (NIHB) joined 29 other Tribal organizations in a letter led by the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) outlining the immediate infrastructure needs in Indian Country in response to President Biden’s March 31 announcement of the $2 trillion American Jobs Plan. The letter was submitted to all Congressional committees of jurisdiction, Congressional leadership, and the White House.
NIHB’s asks focused on healthcare facilities infrastructure, public health infrastructure, Tribal health workforce development, and funding and implementation of unfunded provisions in the Indian Health Care Improvement Act. This includes full funding of the Indian Health Service (IHS) at $48 billion, over $31 billion for healthcare facilities construction, $10 billion for a non-competitive Tribal graduate medical education program, a $6 billion Tribal set-aside for medical residency programs, $3 billion for electronic health records and health information technology modernization, and $2.3 billion for Tribal public health infrastructure.
As Congress and the Biden Administration draft the $2 trillion American Jobs Plan, NIHB continues to advocate for further investments in the Indian health system. The full inter-organization letter can be read here.
Posted April 18, 2021
NIHB Comments on OMB's Tribal Consultation Plan
On April 9, the National Indian Health Board (NIHB) submitted comments to the Office of Budget Management (OMB) on the recent Tribal consultation that took place on April 2nd and 5th regarding the development of the OMB’s new Tribal consultation plan. Some highlights from these comments include the need for Tribes to request consultation with OMB at any time, the need for OMB to sporadically measure how well other federal agencies are honoring the trust responsibility, the need for top level leadership at OMB to be accessible to Tribal leaders, and the need for OMB to work with Tribes and federal agencies to determine the correct amount of funding being offered with the most sufficient distribution method for Tribes. Overall, NIHB’s comments expressed the specific need of a government-to-government relationship that OMB should strive for when creating policy and legislation pertaining to Tribes and Tribal citizens.
Posted April 16, 2021
NIHB Submits Testimony to House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior
On April 16, the National Indian Health Board (NIHB) submitted written testimony to the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior. This committee has jurisdiction over the appropriation of funds for the Indian Health Service (IHS). In the testimony, NIHB outlined the FY 2022 budget needs of IHS based on the fiscal year (FY) 2022 National Budget Formulation Work Group recommendations. The recommendations include a phase-in of full funding for IHS at $48 Billion over ten years with $12.759 Billion for FY 2022 as the first year of that phase in and the passage of advanced appropriations for the IHS to protect IHS operations from government shutdowns. The testimony goes more in-depth on the top priorities within the $12.759 Billion for IHS, including hospitals and clinics, purchased and referred care, health information technology, mental health and substance abuse, facilities, and 105(l) lease expenditures.
Read the full testimony.
Posted April 13, 2021
President's Fiscal Year 2022 Budget Request: Indian Health Summary
On April 9, President Biden's discretionary budget request for Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 was released to Congress. The budget request proposes $769 billion in non-defense discretionary funding, which is a 16% increase over the FY 2021 enacted level, and $753 billion for national defense programs -- a 1.7% increase. Additionally, the request includes $131.7 billion for the Department of Health and Human Services, a $25 billion or 23.5% increase from the 2021 enacted level. Later this spring, the Administration intends to release a detailed version of the budget request.
The National Indian Health Board (NIHB) compiled the Indian Health provisions included across several agencies within the President's proposed budget request.
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