mmpc - National Indian Health Board

Draft Report: Currently being circulated for Tribal leader and health director
review and comment. Please provide comments by October 30, 2012 to Liz
Heintzman at the National Indian Health Board at EHeintzman@nihb.org.
On April 6, 2012, CMS approved Arizona’s request to amend its 1115 demonstration known as
the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS), which allows the State to offer
uncompensated care payments to Indian Health Service and tribal 638 facilities. Under the
amended demonstration, IHS and Tribal 638 facilities can begin to claim payments for
uncompensated care costs associated with services furnished to individuals with income up to
100 percent of the FPL.
CMS training is provided to I/T/U in each Area on an annual basis, supplemented by Medicine
Dish programs, All Tribes calls, a CMS Day at the NIHB Annual Consumer Conference, CMS
sponsorship of a Long Term Care Conference and a website.
Meaningful use of electronic health records rules are defined and promote I/T/U participation.
States are required to consult with Tribes and Tribal Organizations on Medicaid State Plans,
waivers and the development of health insurance exchanges.
Regulation tracking process is implemented for AI/AN and I/T/U issues.
CMS Tribal Affairs Group added staff to address issues.
Medicaid, CHIP, and Medicare enrollment, service and payment data for AI/AN have been
identified and reported .
Collaborative policymaking processes such as those demonstrated by TTAG improve the quality of
resultant decisions.
Organization of CMS AI/AN Strategic Plan
This plan is organized to provide a focus on the goals and objectives. Supporting documentation and
budget summaries are provided in appendices. There are five overarching goals in this plan that apply
to all CMS programs, including Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP, and Health Insurance Exchanges. These are:
Goal 1: CMS engages in meaningful consultation with Tribes and works closely with the TTAG.
Goal 2: CMS enacts and implements policy through regulation, guidance, review and
enforcement to align CMS programs to serve AI/ANs by improving enrollment processes,
assuring access to care, having efficient payment systems, and increasing the I/T/U capacity to
deliver integrated, comprehensive programs.
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