House passes extension of Special Diabetes Program for Indians

Friday, March 28, 2014  

The House approved a one-year extension of the Special Diabetes Program for Indians on Thursday.

Congress created the program in 1997 to address high rates of diabetes in Indian Country. The Indian Health Service has reported measurable gains in preventing and treating the disease as a result of $150 million in yearly grants

The program is due to expire this September. Tribal advocates are pushing for a five-year reauthorization but Congress has only been willing to include one-year extensions in other legislative packages.

The extension was included in H.R.4302, the Protecting Access to Medicare Act. The Senate version, S.2110, has been placed on the legislative calendar so it could see a vote sometime soon.

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