IHS Announced $3M in SDPI Funding will be Offset by FY21 Funding Due to Sequestration in TLDC Meeting

On June 15^th, the Indian Health Service (IHS) held a virtual quarterly Tribal Leaders Diabetes Committee (TLDC) meeting. It was brought to the attention of the call participants that although Congress has funded the Special Diabetes Program for Indians (SDPI) at the current $150 million per year through Fiscal Year (FY) 2023, the FY2022 President’s budget includes funding for SDPI at $147 million— a $3 million decrease due to a mandatory sequester. While most mandatory spending is exempt, including Social Security, veterans’ programs, Medicaid and other low-income programs, it remains unclear why SDPI would be subject to a sequester.

To cover the sequester, funding must come from other pockets of the IHS budget. IHS Deputy Director for Division of Diabetes, Carmen Hardin, announced that offsets from FY2021 funding will cover the FY2022 SDPI $3 million sequestration to ensure no grantee will receive a decrease in their annual funding amount for FY2022. IHS has not indicated exactly where this offset is coming from, and with only $67.7 million for urban Indian health, there is concern that such redirections of funding could be drawing from already tight margins.

There were echoed sentiments among Tribal members on the call concerning the lack of consultation with Tribes around this sequestration and how the funding will be offset. IHS has not initiated urban confer on the matter.