Spotlight: Sonciray Bonnell
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Sonciray Bonnell is leading a tribal and statewide effort to connect American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/AN) to health care. Bonnell, Oregon Health Plan Outreach Manager for the Native American Rehabilitation Association of the Northwest, Inc. (NARA), and three other outreach teammates will focus outreach efforts on public schools around Portland, OR, that mostly represent AI/AN children. The work is made possible by a $500,000 grant from InsureKidsNow.gov.
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Left to right: NARA outreach teammates Rachael Hamilton, Sonciray Bonnell, and Floranda Berglund
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"While some tribes and other health care organizations may already have successful outreach, it is the goal of NARA to help. We are here for them."
— Sonciray Bonnell, NARA
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NARA will work with tribal health directors, tribal education managers, Head Start centers, and other partners to identify people without health insurance.
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Bonnell and her team plan to target powwows, community events, meetings, and health fairs. “Our main ask of the tribes is being invited to any outreach events,” Bonnell said.
She offered these tips for successful outreach about health coverage:
- Remain positive and diplomatic
- Use CMS's Coverage to Care Tribal Brochure (PDF, 800 KB, 48 pp)
- Share health information with partners and communities via posters
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October: Help children stay healthy
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Georgetown study: Medicaid use highest among AI/AN children
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A new study finds American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) children rely on Medicaid at higher rates than other racial and ethnic groups. In 2015, 54% of AI/AN children were enrolled in Medicaid, compared to 39% of all children in the United States. Further, Medicaid supports services offered to many AI/AN children by Indian Health Service.
The study, Coverage Trends for American Indian and Alaska Native Children and Families (PDF, 120 KB, 8 pp), is coauthored by Joan Alker with the Georgetown University Health Policy Institute Center for Children and Families. It is based on 2008–2015 data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey.
“Medicaid is actually an important pair with Indian Health Service. The IHS relies on Medicaid for reimbursement.”
— Joan Alker, Research Professor and Executive Director of the Center for Children and Families
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Joan Alker, Research Professor, Georgetown University
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Alker says health coverage leads to better health for AI/AN children, increases families’ economic health, and helps offset medical costs. Medicaid’s “welcome mat” effect refers to the increase in child Medicaid enrollment that often occurs when parents become eligible, too. The enrollment of entire families in states with Medicaid expansion may explain how a state like Alaska has one of the highest rates of AI/AN children and adults enrolled in health insurance.
The study also notes that the overall uninsured rate for AI/AN children decreased from 25% to 15% during the study period. Alaska and New Mexico saw the largest decline of uninsured AI/AN children.
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Register for CMS Marketplace training
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Stay up-to-date on health care reform and AI/AN Marketplace protections, and learn how to provide guidance for consumers.
The 2018 assister training is now available through the CMS Marketplace Learning Management System. For more information on how to complete the training, see the 2018 Assister Training Update (PDF, 100 KB, 1 p).
The curriculum includes:
- navigator certification
- re-certification for returning navigators
- certified application counselor training
- non-certified navigator training
View the Learning Management System FAQs (PDF, 170 KB, 10 pp) for more information.
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Encourage breast cancer screening in October
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Spread the word about the importance of breast cancer screening by sharing this ad.
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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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2017 Novitas Indian Health Service Workshops
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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CMS Tribal Technical Advisory Group
November 1-2, 2017
National Museum of the American Indian, Washington, DC
This face-to-face meeting for advisory group members runs from 9 a.m.–5 p.m. on the first day, and from 8 a.m.–2 p.m. on the second day.
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CMS ITU Training
November 14-16, 2017
Phoenix, AZ
Learn more and register
This training for business staff, benefits coordinators, medical records staff, and patient registration staff will cover CMS Tribal Affairs updates, Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP, the Health Insurance Marketplace, state-administered programs, Social Security, and Veterans Affairs. The third day, hosted by IHS, will focus on how to maximize access to third party resources and improve access to quality health care.
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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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