Senators Smith and Murkowski Re-introduced Tribal Health Data Improvement Act

On April 27, Sen. Tina Smith and Sen. Lisa Murkowski re-introduced NCUIH endorsed legislation to improve tribal health data surveillance. The bill intends to address challenges faced by tribes and tribal epidemiology centers when trying to access federal healthcare and public health surveillance data systems. NCUIH worked closely on the development of this bill to ensure urban Indians are adequately counted. If passed, the bill would require:

• The Department of Health and Human Services to give tribes, tribal epidemiology centers, and the Indian Health Service access to public health surveillance programs and services.
• The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to give technical assistance to tribes and tribal epidemiology centers and to engage in tribal consultations on American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) birth and death records
• CDC to enter cooperative agreements with tribes, tribal organizations, urban Indian organizations, and tribal epidemiology centers to address misclassification of AI/AN birth and death records and public health surveillance information

Encourage states to enter into data sharing agreements with tribes and tribal epidemiology centers.

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