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Dear USET/USET SPF Family,
On June 30, 2023, the Director of the Indian Health Service (IHS), Roselyn Tso, provided an update on the status of the COVID-19 supplemental appropriations that were provided to the IHS in Fiscal Years (FY) 2020 and 2021. Over FY 2020 and 2021, over $9 billion was appropriated to the IHS through six emergency supplemental appropriations bills.
On June 3, 2023, President Biden signed into law the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA), which suspends the national debt limit through January 1, 2023, but also rescinds certain unobligated COVID-19 supplemental funds, including from the IHS. The FRA protects certain, directly appropriated funds at the IHS, but rescinds approximately $419 million of funds appropriated to the IHS from other COVID-19 appropriations. The rescinded funds were meant to support a variety of activities, such as COVID-19 testing, treatment and other activities at IHS hospitals, the purchase and distribution of personal protective equipment (PPE) and other supplies by the IHS National Supply Service Center (NSSC), and the establishment, expansion, and sustainment of a public health workforce.
Following the FRA, the IHS has nearly $900 million in COVID-19 funds remaining. While these funds were intended for other purposes, they could be used for any of the activities previously supported by rescinded funds. IHS provided a table estimating the rescission impacts and another table on the status of the supplemental funds following the FRA.
USET SPF will continue to monitor this issue and will provide updates when they become available.
For more information, please contact Ashton Martin, USET SPF Health Policy Analyst, at amartin@usetinc.org.
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