Dear USET/USET SPF Family,
During the White House Tribal Nations Summit today, Indian Health Service (IHS) Director Roselyn Tso announced that the IHS and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) have executed a revised agreement to facilitate reimbursement by VA to IHS for services the agency provides to American Indian and Alaskan Native (AI/AN) veterans. Under the new agreement, the VA will reimburse IHS for purchased/referred care and contracted travel for eligible veterans. The VA will also continue to reimburse the IHS for direct care. Since the original agreement was executed in 2012, the VA has reimbursed the IHS for over $154 million in services to over 15,700 AI/AN veterans. More information on the agreement can be found in the Dear Tribal Leader Letter, and the VA-IHS agreement can be viewed here.
This agreement is critical in the provision of healthcare to AI/AN veterans, and VA and IHS plan to implement the plan immediately. The agencies engaged in Tribal consultation during development of this agreement, and USET SPF submitted comments to VA reminding the agency of its legal obligations regarding PRC reimbursements. As the agreement is implemented, Tribal Nations and leaders are encouraged to send written comments to consultation@ihs.gov and tribalgovernmentconsultation@va.gov by January 23, 2024.
For more information, please contact Ashton Martin, USET SPF Health Policy Analyst, at amartin@usetinc.org.
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