Spotlight: Michelle Meza and Shannon Hall with Alaska’s SouthCentral Foundation
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The Southcentral Foundation helps connect homeless and underprivileged children and families to health coverage. The work is funded by a $500,000 grant from CMS. To find more information on past Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act grantees and current American Indian and Alaska Native Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act grantees, visit InsureKidsNow.gov.
Michelle Meza, administrator for the program, said Southcentral Foundation provides health coverage in the Anchorage area and 55 rural villages using health benefits specialists in its clinics and benefit enrollment specialists in the community.
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Michelle Meza and Shannon Hall
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They’re comfortable with working with all different types of populations. They may work with a homeless teenager, they may work with an entire family that is homeless, or in downtown soup kitchens.”
— Michelle Meza, Southcentral Foundation
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Southcentral Foundation’s enrollment strategies include:
- Alerting rural villages to when benefits enrollment specialists will be in their communities
- Pairing enrollment specialists with providers in rural villages
- Tracking patients with electronic health records
Shannon Hall, manager of family health resources, says that the Family Wellness Warriors Initiative helps Southcentral Foundation reach out to entire families to ensure the health of each member.
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Share CMS’s collection of Health Matters videos on your social media channels or air them in your waiting room.
These videos feature American Indians and Alaska Natives talking about how insurance coverage keeps them and their families healthy.
Featured celebrities include:
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Brochures and Fact Sheets
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The CMS bookmark (PDF, 151 KB, 2 pp) reminds consumers about health care plans. Insert these in binders, folders, and other outreach materials.
Download these materials and other free resources from CMS’s Tribal Outreach and Education Resources page or order them. Please allow 2 weeks for your order to be completed.
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Expert tips from Leech Lake Tribal College
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Leech Lake Tribal College in Minnesota uses the Seven Grandfather Teachings (honesty, truth, humility, love, wisdom, courage, and respect) to guide the Mino-ayaawigamig Wellness Center.
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“Our staff is diverse and culturally aware. When interacting with different tribes and Hispanic populations, it’s important that we not only speak the language, but relate to each community. Everyone is energetic, dedicated, and willing to work long hours for outreach.”
—Matt Hanson, Leech Lake Tribal College Wellness Center Director
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Since the college doesn’t offer health services itself, Mino-ayaawigamig staff refer students to off-campus health care. Wellness Center Director Matt Hanson offers these tips for college wellness centers:
- engage students early
- encourage students to ask questions
- use advocates to help students with services like health care referrals
- encourage faculty and staff to refer students to your wellness center
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The CMS brochure Off to College? Don’t Forget your Health Care (PDF, 1.5 MB, 2 pp) offers tips for how college students can maintain health coverage, including:
- enroll in school health insurance
- stay on parents’ health insurance until age 26
- contact tribal clinics to discuss student health coverage options
- sign up for insurance through the Health Insurance Marketplace
For more information, visit healthcare.gov/young-adults.
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Prevent Medicare fraud
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CMS will begin mailing new Medicare cards to beneficiaries in April 2018, as part of its fraud prevention program.
When discussing the new card with beneficiaries, use CMS Medicare card messaging guidelines (PDF, 106 KB, 3 pp).
Share CMS’s Guard Your Card PSA and remind people to guard their Medicare card.
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Addressing diabetes in Indian Country
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The American Diabetes Association recommends enrolling in health coverage to get the best care for diabetes. CHIP, Medicaid, Medicare, and Health Insurance Marketplace plans’ diabetes coverage includes diabetes screenings, prevention plans, and treatment supplies.
Data source: CDC’s National Diabetes Statistics Report, 2017
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Encourage participation in OMH’s AI/AN health survey
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Answer the Call is a campaign and partnership between the Office of Minority Health and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to better understand the health status of American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) populations.
The 30-minute telephone survey is being conducted in 11 states through December 31, 2017. Please encourage your clients to participate if called.
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NIHB National Tribal Health Conference
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Attend the National Indian Health Board’s (NIHB) Sept. 25-28 National Tribal Health Conference in Bellevue, WA, to:
- network with tribal health advocates, health directors, researchers, and federal agencies
- participate in tribal consultations and listening sessions
- learn about tribal health care and public health programs
Register.
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2017 Novitas Indian Health Service Workshops
October 5, 2017
Aberdeen Area Indian Health Board, Aberdeen, SD
October 26, 2017
Judge Jameson Federal Building, Billings, MT
Novitas Solutions, Inc., will conduct workshops for patient benefits and billing staff working in Indian Health Service (IHS) facilities and programs. The sessions will focus on Medicare topics, including enrollment requirements, patient screening tools, billing guidelines, and Medicare updates. The workshops will offer focused overviews of Medicare Part A (Hospital Insurance) and Medicare Part B (Medical Insurance) services that are referenced in the IHS Training Manual. Learn more
To sign up, contact Gail Atnip at gail.atnip@novitas-solutions.com or (443) 791-1119.
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Diabetes in Indian Country Conference
September 19–21, 2017
Hyatt Regency, Albuquerque, NM
Learn more and register
This event is for Indian Health Service, tribal, and urban Indian health programs to network, share best practices, present their work in Native communities, and earn CME/CE credits.
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National Indian Health Board National Tribal Health Conference
September 25–28, 2017
Hyatt Regency, Bellevue, WA
Register
This event is for tribal leaders, health care navigators, advocates, and researchers to network and participate in tribal consultations and trainings.
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Alaska Native Health Research Conference
October 16-18, 2017
Hotel Captain Cook, Anchorage, AK
Register
The Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium’s conference provides a forum to share current health research projects within Alaska Native communities. The pre-conference workshop provides research ethics training with a focus on research review across Alaska tribal health organizations.
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About the Newsletter
Covering Indian Country is published by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Division of Tribal Affairs to share resources, success stories, and best practices with the people who connect tribal communities to health insurance.
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