Indian Health Service 2020 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Notice is provided that the Director of the Indian Health Service has approved the rates for inpatient and outpatient medical care provided by IHS facilities for Calendar Year 2021.

The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is proposing to issue regulations guiding implementation of the Buy Indian Act, which provides IHS with authority to set-aside procurement contracts for Indian-owned and controlled businesses.

The Indian Health Service published a notice in the Federal Register on October 14, 2020 listing members of the Indian Health Service's Senior Executive Service Performance Review Board. The membership listing failed to include Mr. Christopher Mandregan as a member of the Performance Review Board.

This Notice advises the public that the Indian Health Service (IHS) proposes to expand the geographic boundaries of the Purchased/ Referred Care Delivery Area (PRCDA) for the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe in the State of Minnesota to include the Minnesota counties of Crow Wing and Morrison in the State of Minnesota. The current PRCDA for the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe includes the Minnesota counties of Aitkin, Kanebec, Mille Lacs, and Pine. Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe members residing outside of the PRCDA are eligible for direct care services, however, they are not eligible for Purchased/Referred Care (PRC) services. The sole purpose of this expansion would be to authorize additional Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe members and beneficiaries to receive PRC services.

The Office of Clinical and Preventive Services (OCPS) announces the award of a single-source cooperative agreement in response to an unsolicited proposal from Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland. The proposal submitted was not solicited either formally or informally by any federal government official. OCPS performed an objective review of the unsolicited proposal from Johns Hopkins University (JHU) to develop information on proper actions to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, in a culturally sensitive way. The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (JHSPH) Center for American Indian Health (CAIH) mission is to work in partnerships with AI/AN communities to raise their health status, self-sufficiency, and health leadership to the highest possible level. This mission is accomplished through research, training and education, and service. The CAIH has more than nine facilities and approximately 100 staff in the Southwestern tribal communities to assist the Indian Health Service (IHS) in containing and mitigating COVID-19, while building a response model and set of communication materials for all IHS regions nationwide. The CAIH can draw on broad expertise from JHU for additional guidance and recommendations on best practices as the situation evolves. The materials will be developed from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) guidance. Based on an internal review of the proposal and the immediate response of the IHS to address the COVID-19 public health emergency, OCPS determined that the proposal has merit. The long history between the federal government and Native American Tribes and people has often been less than ideal. There are still barriers to the Native American community accepting instruction or direction from the federal government. There is great value in having a third party that has a good history with the community to gather, package and deliver recommendations, in a culturally sensitive way, on staying safe from this disease, when those recommendations may run contrary to cultural norms. This delivery avenue will be more acceptable to the community, and will be more readily recognized for implementation within AI/AN communities. This award is being made noncompetitively because there is no current, pending, or planned funding opportunity announcement under which this proposal could be competed. OCPS has identified two additional key reasons to support rationale for awarding this unsolicited proposal: 1. The JHU CAIH is well known in the AI/AN communities for robust communication/messaging networks, research, training, and subject matter expertise. The dissemination of critical COVID-19 information for tribal communities builds trust, credibility, and integrity of promoting a culturally sensitive public health approach around the information. 2. The JHU CAIH is uniquely positioned to provide culturally specific subject matter expertise drawn from a direct care services or ``boots on the ground'' approach. The CAIH has nearly 40 years of collaboration with Native American tribes and supports public health interventions in more than 140 tribal communities in over 21 states. The breadth of knowledge and existing partnerships will enhance dissemination of information nationally. Legislative Authority: The Snyder Act, 25 U.S.C. Section 13; the Indian Health Care Improvement Act, 25 U.S.C. Section 1621b; and Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, Public Law 116-136.

The Indian Health Service (IHS) of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS or ``the Department'') is issuing this notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) proposing the removal of regulations appearing in the Code of Federal Regulations. These regulations have never been implemented and were referred to as ``suspended'' in a 1999 Federal Register Notice.

The Indian Health Service (IHS) of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS or ``the Department'') is issuing this Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to remove obsolete language appearing in the Code of Federal Regulations, regarding the rates charged for the provision of IHS services to ineligible individuals.

Notice is hereby given that the Indian Health Service (IHS) is establishing the geographic boundaries of the Purchased/Referred Care Delivery Area (PRCDA) (formerly Contract Health Service Delivery Area or CHSDA) for the newly federally recognized Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana.

Notice is given that the Principal Deputy Director of the Indian Health Service (IHS), under the authority of the Public Health Service Act, and the Indian Health Care Improvement Act, has approved the following rates for inpatient and outpatient medical care provided by IHS facilities for Calendar Year 2020 for Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, beneficiaries of other federal programs, and for recoveries under the Federal Medical Care Recovery Act. The inpatient rates for Medicare Part A are excluded from the table below, as Medicare inpatient payments for IHS hospital facilities are made based on the prospective payment system or reasonable costs when IHS facilities are designated as Medicare Critical Access Hospitals. Since the inpatient per diem rates set forth below do not include all physician services and practitioner services, additional payment shall be available to the extent that those services are provided.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), the Indian Health Service (IHS) invites the general public to comment on the information collection titled, ``Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act Contracts,'' Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Control Number 0917-0037. IHS is requesting OMB to approve an extension for this collection, which expires on February 29, 2020. This proposed information collection project was previously published in the Federal Register (84 FR 70982) on December 26, 2019, and allowed 60 days for public comment, as required by the PRA. The IHS received no comments regarding this collection. The purpose of this notice is to allow 30 days for public comment to be submitted directly to OMB.

Notice is hereby given that the Indian Health Service (IHS) is establishing the geographic boundaries of the Purchased/Referred Care Delivery Area (PRCDA) (formerly Contract Health Service Delivery Area or CHSDA) for six newly recognized Tribes: The Chickahominy Indian Tribe, the Chickahominy Indian TribeEastern Division, the Upper Mattaponi Tribe, the Rappahannock Tribe, Inc., the Monacan Indian Nation, and the Nansemond Indian Tribe.