Covering Indian Country – May 2020

May 2020

Spotlight: COVID-19 and health care coverage

The COVID-19 pandemic (PDF, 203 KB, 1 p) underscores the critical role of health care coverage in efforts to keep American Indians and Alaska Natives safe and healthy.

Testing for COVID-19 is covered under Medicare, Medicaid, and Marketplace plans. Moreover, both Medicare and Medicaid cover telehealth services even when the provider and patient are at home and not in a clinic or other health care setting. Notably, telehealth services encompass preventive health screenings and mental health counseling and do not need to be related to COVID-19.

Given widespread layoffs and the resulting drop in employer-sponsored coverage, outreach to increase enrollment in other types of health care coverage is crucial

Social distancing guidelines have forced organizations to develop new strategies for facilitating enrollment in health care coverage. Indian health care providers and other tribal entities may want to adapt some of those strategies, which include:

• Conducting outreach and enrollment assistance over the phone and online
• Coordinating with unemployment offices to ensure clients are aware of health care coverage resources, such as HealthCare.gov
• Disseminating enrollment information at community food or meal distribution sites
• Tapping into electronic newsletters and virtual services to disseminate information about health care coverage options
• Providing small businesses with information on health care coverage and enrollment to share with current and former employees
• Supplying grocery stores with fact sheets and posters about health care coverage
• Providing your tribal or local radio stations with audio public service announcements

For tribal-specific resources on health care coverage options, visit the CMS enrollment assistance webpage. You may also visit your state’s Medicaid website, HealthCare.gov, and CMS’s blog post on coronavirus and Medicare enrollment for more information on how to enroll in these programs during the COVID-19 pandemic.

May: Mental health

Health observances

May is Mental Health Month

In observance of Mental Health Month, download and share the Spring 2020 issue of Mental Health in Our Native American Communities.

Titled "Suicide, Trauma, and Finding a Way to Heal" (PDF, 9 MB, 16 pp), the newsletter includes resources and articles related to suicide prevention in Indian Country. It also features an interview with Raymond Daw, MA, (Diné) a counselor with extensive experience addressing suicide in Native communities.

National Women’s Health Week, May 10–16

This year, Mother’s Day falls on May 10, which marks the start of National Women’s Health Week. Time permitting, please make every effort to respond to CMS’s request for information (RFI) regarding maternal and infant health care in rural communities (PDF, 379 KB, 11 pp).

Issued by CMS’s Office of Minority Health, the RFI seeks recommendations for improving health care access, quality, and outcomes for women and infants in rural communities. Email your recommendations to ruralmaternalrfi@cms.hhs.gov by May 31.

Hepatitis Awareness Month

Observed each May, Hepatitis Awareness Month focuses attention on hepatitis C, a liver disease that can be deadly. Widespread misuse of opioids and other injection drugs has dramatically increased the number of people newly infected with the hepatitis C virus, which can cause serious long-term health problems.

To help prevent hepatitis C, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in North Carolina created the Tsalagi Public Health Syringe Services Program in 2018. The program connects people who inject drugs with medical care, treatment for substance use disorder, education on safer injection practices, and other community services.

Additional resources

Tools and tips for domestic violence programs and shelters

The COVID-19 pandemic has created new challenges for domestic violence survivors and the programs, agencies, and shelters that serve them.

People who are quarantined with abusive partners may find it more difficult to access the services they need. At the same time, social distancing in response to the pandemic has forced service agencies to reassess their procedures and rely more heavily on mobile, remote, or technology-based services.

To address these challenges, the National Network to End Domestic Violence recently developed a digital services toolkit for programs and agencies that support domestic violence survivors. The toolkit covers topics such as:

• assessing readiness for digital services
• choosing a digital services platform and vendor
• best practices to ensure services are high-quality and survivor-centered

Additionally, the National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center has created COVID-19: Guidance for Tribal Programs (PDF, 743 KB, 4 pp). This 4-page document includes tips to help tribal domestic violence programs and shelters meet their clients’ needs while maintaining confidentiality and implementing measures to prevent COVID-19 transmission.

Virtual public health training now available

The National Indian Health Board (NIHB) created the interactive e-course, Public Health Training, to help strengthen public health infrastructure and improve delivery of essential services. The course is intended for tribal leaders and tribal advisory committee members.

NIHB recommends setting aside 2 to 3 hours for the course. Registration is not required, and people have the option of working through the course at their own pace.