Covering Indian Country – March 2018

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services: Covering Indian Country

March 2018

Spotlight: Rocky Mountain Tribal Leaders Council Billings, MT, outreach

The Rocky Mountain Tribal Leaders Council and 18 organizations recently hosted an urban Indian resource fair where American Indians and Alaska Natives learned about the availability of Billings, MT, area health services. The groups worked together to make health care more accessible for tribal members and to connect people to local services.

photo of Anna Schmitt

Anna Schmitt, evaluation specialist for the Rocky Mountain Tribal Leaders Council, and other volunteers assisted individuals with answering a questionnaire about their health care needs. Health care navigators helped people determine their insurance eligibility and enroll in appropriate health care plans. Navigators explained the benefits of health insurance for individuals and tribes and the unique provisions for tribal members.

Community partners, such as Planned Parenthood, Montana State University Billings, City College, Circle of Life Home Care, and CASA of Yellowstone County, connected hundreds of people to services for medical care, behavioral health, housing, education, and domestic violence.

This work will continue with another outreach event to help tribal members enroll in health care.

New Medicare cards

Image of new Medicare card. New Medicare cards protect your health and your identity. New Medicare cards will be sent to Medicare patients between April 2018 and April 2019. You don't need to do anything to get your new card. Make sure your mailing address is up to date. Watch your mailbox for your new card with new number. You can use your new card at your tribal health care provider. Learn more at go.medicare.gov/newcard or call 1-800-633-4227.

Share this ad in your newsletter or on your website. Other sizes are available on CMS’s Outreach and Education Resources page.

Public service announcements

Share these informational audio clips and videos on your local radio station, website, and Facebook page.

SoundcloudAudio
English Lakota Navajo Ojibwe Yupik Zuni

YoutubeVideo
English Lakota Navajo Ojibwe Yupik Zuni

TwitterTweet it

Your family can heal. Find help for alcohol and drug #addiction through free services offered through #insurance. Video: https://youtu.be/e1rqCZ4w3IM

#Nativehealth

Medicare brochures

Medicare’s Free Preventive Health Services (PDF, 423 KB, 2 pp) lists preventive services covered by Medicare and describes habits to sustain a healthy lifestyle.

Medicare Prescription Drugs (Part D) (PDF, 520 KB, 2 pp) explains how signing up for a Part D plan through a private insurance company works with your Indian health care, what is covered, and the Extra Help program.

Medicare and Medicaid Benefits for People with Dementia (PDF, 272 KB, 2 pp) compares Medicare and Medicaid services during early states and later stages of dementia.

Collage of three CMS resources, including the behavioral health brochure, Native Communities Can Heal; Medicaid & CHIP for American Indians/Alaska Natives pocket card, and screenshot of Acosia Red Elk from a Health Matters video

Download these files or order copies of these resources on the Tribal Products Ordering Page. Please allow 2 weeks for your order to be completed.

Additional Resources

New Medicare cards arrive this spring

New Medicare cards arrive this spring

Starting this spring, older adults will begin to receive new Medicare cards. To help protect elders from identity theft, these new cards will replace social security numbers with Medicare numbers that are unique to each beneficiary.

You can use the CMS Medicare messaging guidelines (PDF, 106 KB, 3 pp) to share these changes with elders in your community. To help prevent identity theft, remind elders to guard their cards.

If you are wondering when the new Medicare cards may start arriving in your community, refer to the CMS Medicare card mailing strategy (PDF, 63 KB, 1 p), which lists expected time frames for different states.

New Medicare Cards—webinar recording

Learn more about the new Medicare cards from CMS. This webinar focused on the implementation of the new Medicare card and its impact on tribal citizens.

To help protect elders from identity theft, these new cards will replace Social Security numbers with Medicare numbers that are unique to each beneficiary.

Watch the recording to learn:

  • why CMS is providing new Medicare cards
  • what the Medicare Beneficiary Identifier (MBI) is and why it’s important
  • how CMS will transition to the MBI
  • what providers should do to get ready for the new MBI
  • how this project impacts American Indians and Alaska Natives
  • how CMS is working to increase awareness of this project

Diabetes from a Native perspective

Using Our Wit and Wisdom to Live Well with Diabetes – Updated 2017 book cover

In Using Our Wit and Wisdom to Live Well with Diabetes, Barbara Mora (Paiute/Diné) describes her journey with diabetes through a cultural lens. She shares her initial struggle with denial and depression after her diagnosis and how she ultimately learned to take care of herself and her diabetes to live well.

This book is useful to those living with diabetes, their family members, and health care providers.

Order a copy from the IHS Division of Diabetes Education Materials and Resources webpage.

NACCHO offers free health and disability training

The National Association of County and City Health Officials is offering a free training to help health departments better include people with disabilities in their programs and services. Health and Disability 101: Training for Health Department Employees can be accessed at any time online.

Topics covered include:

  • identifying different disabilities;
  • reviewing poorer health outcomes among people with disabilities due to barriers to health care; and
  • discussing the benefits of including people with disabilities in health department programs, products, and services.

The training is free, but you will need to register on the site and “purchase” the training at no cost. You will then receive free access to the 1-hour course online to take at your convenience. Register for the training.

After flu season comes allergy and asthma season

Asthma poster that says:
When kids have health insurance, we all breathe easier. Whether it’s allergies, asthma or just a common cold, your kids can get the care they need. Medicaid and CHIP offers free or low-cost health insurance for kids and teens. Children can get regular check-ups, immunizations, doctor and dentist visits, hospital care, mental health services, prescriptions and more. Children in a family of four earning up to $48,600 a year or more may qualify.Go to HealthCare.gov or call 1-800-318-2596 (TTY: 1-855-889-4325) to learn more about affordable health coverage for your family.

With spring comes flowers, grasses, and their pollen. And with pollen comes an uptick in seasonal allergies and asthma.

American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) children are 60% more likely to have asthma than non-Hispanic White children, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). CDC’s 2015 National Health Interview Survey found that 11.5% of AI/AN children have asthma.

The Connecting Kids to Coverage National Campaign has resources and tools to help you encourage parents to enroll their kids in Medicaid and CHIP so they can get the treatment they need for seasonal allergies and asthma. These materials include a downloadable palm card (PDF, 565 KB, 1 p) and a poster (PDF, 523 KB, 1 p) promoting, “When kids have health insurance, we all breathe easier.”

Calendar of Events

CMS ITU trainings

These trainings are for business staff, benefits coordinators, medical records staff, and patient registration staff. They cover CMS Tribal Affairs updates, Medicare, Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, the Health Insurance Marketplace, state-administered programs, Social Security, and Veterans Affairs.

Trainings in 2018

Native American Child and Family Conference

March 12–15, 2018

Las Vegas, NV
Learn more

This conference will provide training opportunities related to Head Start, Early Head Start, and child care programs.

5th International Indigenous Women’s Health Meeting

March 21–23, 2018

Albuquerque, NM
Learn more (PDF, 5 MB, 8 pp)

The International Indigenous Women's Health Meeting is jointly sponsored by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada. The meeting focuses on innovative clinical care models and community-based public health approaches for women and their families in First Nations, Inuit, Métis, American Indian, and Alaska Native communities. Participants will strengthen their knowledge about health problems facing Indigenous women and acquire practical skills. Opportunities to share knowledge and to develop partnerships are built into the program.

2018 Native Women and Men’s Wellness and Diabetes Prevention Conference

March 25–28, 2018

New Orleans, LA
Learn more

The American Indian Institute at the University of Oklahoma conference offers presentations by national speakers, continuing education, networking opportunities, and resources to enhance diabetes prevention services.

36th Annual Protecting Our Children Conference

April 15–18, 2018

Anchorage, AK
Learn more

This conference is one of the largest national gatherings on AI/AN child advocacy issues, focusing on tribal welfare and well-being. Participants represent a variety of fields and interests, including child welfare and mental health.

2018 Healthy Kids! Healthy Futures! Conference

April 17–18, 2018

Albuquerque, NM
Learn more

This conference is for public health professionals who want to learn how to improve children’s health in their community. It is sponsored by the Notah Begay III Foundation, a national nonprofit organization committed to addressing Native children’s health issues.

2018 Population Health Research Summit

April 17–18, 2018

Sioux Falls, SD
Learn more

The Collaborative Research Center for American Indian Health and the Center for Health Outcomes and Population Research have partnered to host this summit. Researchers, tribal members, and health professionals should register for this event to network and participate in this educational workshop.

Webinar: Developing a Sexual Assault Response Team in Indian Country

April 18, 2018

Online
Learn more

Bonnie Clairmont, Victim and Advocacy Project Specialist with the Tribal Law and Policy Institute, will present the challenges, successes, and importance of developing practices and protocols responsive to the immediate needs of adult victims of sexual assault. Continued medical education credit is offered.

2018 Tribal Self-Governance Annual Conference

April 22–26, 2018

Albuquerque, NM
Learn more

Protecting Indian Health and Human Services and their Beneficiaries Conference

May 15–16, 2018

Edmond, OK
Learn more

Learn about health care and grants management compliance for U.S. Department of Health and Human Services funds.

2018 National Tribal Public Health Summit

May 22–24, 2018

Prior Lake, MN
Learn more

The National Indian Health Board is hosting a summit for public health professionals, elected leaders, advocates, and researchers. The conference theme, “Balance, Harmony, Culture, Health,” will feature solutions for Indian Country. Topics include:

  • health promotion and disease prevention
  • public health policy, infrastructure, and capacity
  • substance misuse and behavioral health
  • climate change and environmental health
  • cancer prevention and treatment

National Tribal Health Conference

September 17–20, 2018

Oklahoma City, OK
Save the date

The National Indian Health Board is coordinating its 35th Annual National Tribal Health Conference at the Renaissance Oklahoma City Convention Center.

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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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