NCUIH Urges Office of Management and Budget to Fully Fund IHS and Fund Critical Indian Health Programs
On September 29, 2023, the National Council of Urban Indian health (NCUIH) submitted comments to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director, Shalanda Young, regarding the formulation of the President’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 Budget. In its comments, NCUIH made seven key recommendations to fully fund and support health services for urban Indian organizations (UIOs) and urban American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) people.
Background
OMB serves as a clearinghouse for budget formulation by developing overarching presidential priorities, coordinating across agencies, and publishing the annual President’s Budget. For more information on OMB, please click here.
NCUIH’s Recommendations
In its comments, NCUIH recommended that the President’s FY2025 budget:
- Fully fund the Indian Health Service (IHS) and the Urban Indian Health Line Item , as recommended by the Tribal Budget Formulation Workgroup. Full funding for IHS in the President’s FY 2025 Budget will address the following UIO priorities:
- Infrastructure and facility needs
- Food security
- Traditional Healing
- Health information technology and electronic health record modernization
- Safeguard IHS and UIO funding by transitioning the IHS budget from discretionary funding to mandatory funding and exempting IHS funding from sequestration.
- Propose setting the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) at 100% for Medicaid services provided at UIOs.
- Request inclusion of $80 million for the Native Behavioral Health Resource Program (NBHRP).
- Propose permanent reauthorization of the Special Diabetes Program for Indians (SDPI) at $250 million, if not reauthorized in the FY 2024 budget.
- Request a legislative fix permitting the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps Officers to be detailed to UIOs
NCUIH will continue to monitor the FY 2025 budget formulation process and report developments across federal agencies and in Congress.
