DAY OF ACTION: Save Native Lives – Show Your Support on November 30!

Contact Congress │ Access the Social Media Toolkit │ NCUIH Advance Appropriations Website │ Advance Appropriations One-Pager

The National Council of Urban Indian Health is hosting a Day of Action in support of Native communities on November 30.

• Who: National Council of Urban Indian Health and all supporters of stable funding for the Indian Health Service (IHS)
• What: Day of Action on Social Media
• When: November 30, 2022 – Native American Heritage Month is quickly drawing to a close and it’s time for the United States government to truly honor Native communities by stabilizing health care funding and ending the budget delays that hinder health services. The White House is also hosting an in-person Tribal Nations Summit on November 30 and December 1. Meanwhile, Congress is hard at work finalizing the end of year legislation and this is a top priority that Native communities have requested for inclusion to help Native communities.
• Where: Online and on Capitol Hill
• Why: During the last government shutdown, 5 Indian Health Service patients died as health clinics dealt with the lapse of funding. IHS is the only major federal provider of health care solely funded through regular annual appropriations. IHS is the only major federal provider of health care vulnerable to government shutdowns and temporary, “stopgap” budgets. Congress can change this by providing a FY2024 level-funded advance appropriation for most of the IHS.
• How: You can get involved by using our social media toolkit and sending letters to Congress to support stable funding for the Indian Health Service this year.
• Social Media Toolkit

Watch and Share the Explainer Video

DAY OF ACTION PLAN

POST ON SOCIAL MEDIA – Share you support for stable funding for IHS with your followers!

WHEN: Tuesday, November 30, 2022, beginning at 9 am EST.

HOW: Use these graphics and our toolkit to post on social media and call on your Member of Congress to take action!

Access the Social Media Toolkit

EMAIL YOUR MEMBER OF CONGRESS

STEPS TO CONTACT CONGRESS

• Step 1: Copy the email below.
• Step 2: Find your Representative here and your Senator here.
• Step 3: Paste the email into the form on your Member of Congress’ contact page and send. Please contact Meredith Raimondi (policy@ncuih.org) with questions.

Email to Your Representative and Senators

Dear [Member of Congress],

As an Indian health advocate, I respectfully request you ensure the inclusion of advance appropriations for the Indian Health Service (IHS) in the upcoming Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 final spending package until mandatory funding for the agency can be achieved.

The Indian health system, including IHS, Tribal facilities, and urban Indian organizations (UIOs), is the only major federal health care provider funded through annual appropriations. If IHS were to receive advance appropriations, it would not be subject to government shutdowns, automatic sequestration cuts, and continuing resolutions as its funding for the next year would already be in place. We need this to protect Native lives!

I respectfully ask that you honor the federal trust obligation to American Indians and Alaska Natives by ensuring advance appropriations for IHS can finally be made a reality this year.

Thank you for your leadership and your commitment to upholding the United States trust responsibility.

Sincerely,
[contact information]

Background

The National Council of Urban Indian Health is advocating tirelessly to Congress to ensure advance appropriations for the Indian Health Service (IHS).

We need your help contacting Congress and posting on social media to support securing advance appropriations and mandatory funding for IHS. The Indian health system, including IHS, Tribal facilities, and urban Indian organizations (UIOs), is the only major federal health care provider funded through annual appropriations.

If IHS were to receive advance appropriations, it would ensure continuity of care for American Indians and Alaska Natives and complement President Biden’s budget request to honor commitments to Tribal nations and communities. In fact, Native communities have experienced deaths due to government shutdowns in the past and according to a recent study, Native Americans experienced the biggest drop in life expectancy— decreasing by 6.6 years between 2019-2021. The lives of Native people should not be subject to politics. We need this to protect Native people and preserve access to health care.

We urge you to post your support for advance appropriations on social media. We also urge you to contact your Member of Congress and request that they support including advance appropriations for IHS in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 final spending package. You can use the toolkit below for your advocacy and the text below as a template to call and/or email your Members of Congress.

Thank you for your leadership. Your outreach on this is invaluable to providing greater access to health care for all American Indians and Alaska Natives.