{"id":1865,"date":"2020-10-01T10:20:47","date_gmt":"2020-10-01T15:20:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.indianz.com\/News\/?p=1865"},"modified":"2020-10-01T10:23:31","modified_gmt":"2020-10-01T15:23:31","slug":"cronkite-news-indian-country-pushes-for-renewal-of-successful-diabetes-program","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2020\/10\/01\/cronkite-news-indian-country-pushes-for-renewal-of-successful-diabetes-program\/","title":{"rendered":"Cronkite News: Indian Country pushes for renewal of successful diabetes program"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9\"><iframe src=\"https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/isvp\/?type=arch&amp;comm=indian&amp;filename=indian092320&amp;auto_play=false&amp;poster=https:\/\/www.indian.senate.gov\/sites\/all\/themes\/ldsbootstrap\/images\/Indian-affairs-video-bg.png\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n<figcaption class=\"figure-caption\">Senate Committee on Indian Affairs [Starts around 33:00 into feed]: <a href=https:\/\/www.indian.senate.gov\/hearing\/legislative-hearing-receive-testimony-s-3126-s-3264-s-3937-s-4079-s-4556>Legislative Hearing to receive testimony on S. 3126, S. 3264, S. 3937, S. 4079 &#038; S. 4556 &#8211; September 23, 2020<\/a>\r\n<\/figcaption>\r\n<div class=\"h3-responsive font-weight-bold\">Hopi leader: Congress must act to save \u2018life changing\u2019 diabetes program<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"date\">Thursday, October 1, 2020<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"byline\">By Calah Schlabach<\/div>\r\n<DIV class=source>Cronkite News<\/DIV>\r\n<DIV class=source-website><A \r\nhref=\"https:\/\/cronkitenews.azpbs.org\/\">cronkitenews.azpbs.org<\/A><\/DIV>\r\n<P><\/P>\r\nWASHINGTON \u2013 A \u201clife-changing\u201d diabetes program for Native Americans will expire December 11 if Congress doesn\u2019t take action, advocates said.\r\n<P><\/P>\r\nHopi Chairman Timothy Nuvangyaoma said it is \u201ccritical\u201d that lawmakers reauthorize the Special Diabetes Program for Indians, which serves tribes across Arizona and the nation.\r\n<P><\/P>\r\n\u201cThere is no doubt that our program has changed the course of diabetes in the Hopi community,\u201d said Nuvangyaoma, in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.indian.senate.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/Hopi%20Testimony%20-%20SDPI%20Senate%20Hearing.pdf\" >virtual testimony<\/a> last week to the Senate Indian Affairs Committee. He said the program, which incorporates Hopi culture, served more than 17,000 people last year alone.\r\n<P><\/P>\r\nThe Hopi diabetes program is one of 27 similar community-directed efforts in Arizona funded by the Special <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nihb.org\/sdpi\/docs\/states\/SDPI%20Fact%20Sheet%20(Arizona).pdf\">Diabetes Program<\/a> for Indians, which operates in tribal communities in 35 states. The national program was credited in one study with a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ihs.gov\/newsroom\/ihs-blog\/april-2020-blogs\/new-study-shows-decrease-in-diabetes-prevalence-for-american-indian-and-alaska-native-adults\/\" >significant decline<\/a> in Native American diabetes rates since 2013. The $150 million program was also found to have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nihb.org\/sdpi\/docs\/02142019\/295303_NIHB%20SDPI%20Factsheet%20WEB.PDF\" >saved Medicare<\/a> $52 million annually.\r\n<P><\/P>\r\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Since it was created in 1997, the Special Diabetes Program for Indians has shown great success in reducing the rate of type 2 diabetes in tribal communities while improving overall health. Thank you to <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/lisamurkowski?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@lisamurkowski<\/a> for cosponsoring my bill to reauthorize this important program. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Nbtgasiifq\">https:\/\/t.co\/Nbtgasiifq<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Martha McSally (@SenMcSallyAZ) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SenMcSallyAZ\/status\/1310944908723859458?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 29, 2020<\/a><\/blockquote> <script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nEveryone agrees that the program should be extended, but Congress cannot seem to agree on the long-term funding \u2013 and stability \u2013 supporters say the program needs.\r\n<P><\/P>\r\n\u201cWhile demonstrably effective, the diabetes program has suffered in recent years from a series of short-term reauthorizations and stagnant funding that\u2019s hindered the program\u2019s full potential,\u201d said Sen. Martha McSally, R-Arizona, during <a href=\"https:\/\/www.indian.senate.gov\/hearing\/legislative-hearing-receive-testimony-s-3126-s-3264-s-3937-s-4079-s-4556\" >the hearing.<\/a> Uncertain funding chokes prevention efforts \u2013 a major detriment when \u201clong-term strategies are key to successfully getting type-two diabetes rates in check.\u201d\r\n<P><\/P>\r\nThe program was created in 1997 and has been extended for as long as five years at a time, but recently Congress has moved toward short-term extensions. The most recent extensions have lasted months and the latest, which would include the program in a stopgap budget resolution, would extend it just 11 days, from November 30 to December  11.\r\n<P><\/P>\r\nMcSally introduced <a href=\"https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/116\/bills\/s3937\/BILLS-116s3937is.pdf\">a bill<\/a> [<a href=https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/bill\/116th-congress\/senate-bill\/3937>S.3937<\/a>] co-sponsored by Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Arizona, to increase funding and extend for five years the decades-long program that has been wildly successful in improving diabetes rates in Native American communities across the country. Rep. Tom O\u2019Halleran, D-Sedona, has introduced a similar bill in the House. [<a href=https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/bill\/116th-congress\/house-bill\/2680>H.R.2680<\/a>]\r\n<P><\/P>\r\nWhen it was up for renewal last year, it passed with more than 80% of the House vote and over 70% of the Senate, astonishing levels of support in the current partisan climate, said Stacy Bohlen, executive director of the National Indian Health Board.\r\n<P><\/P>\r\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Studies have shown that those with type 1 diabetes have a higher chance of dying from COVID-19. The SDPI provides grants to special health services for diabetic patients. Urge Congress to reauthorize this program so lives can be saved. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/A7R544ACNa\">pic.twitter.com\/A7R544ACNa<\/a><\/p>&mdash; NIHB (@NIHB1) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NIHB1\/status\/1311671326864814082?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 1, 2020<\/a><\/blockquote> <script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nIf the program is not extended, \u201cdire isn\u2019t even the appropriate word for how serious it would be,\u201d Bohlen said.\r\n<P><\/P>\r\n\u201cNobody\u2019s getting those kind of numbers,\u201d Bohlen said of the program\u2019s positive results. \u201cTribes are knocking this out of the park and, instead of being rewarded for that, they\u2019re being knocked down.\u201d\r\n<P><\/P>\r\nThe Hopi first received federal diabetes program funding in 1998. Their program focuses on reducing obesity, improving nutrition, addressing food insecurity and promoting physical fitness \u2013 all diabetes-prevention measures.\r\n<P><\/P>\r\nTribes and health advocates have been seeking long-term reauthorization for years, in addition to an increase in funding. The annual $150 million budget has a third less <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nihb.org\/docs\/04022020\/FINAL_LEG_AND_POLICY_AGENDA_2020.pdf\" >buying power<\/a> than it did in 2004, the last time Congress increased its funding.\r\n<P><\/P>\r\nThere\u2019s \u201can appetite\u201d on Capitol Hill to renew the program for five years, said Meredith Raimondi, director of congressional affairs for the National Council of Urban Indian Health. But the <a href=\/covid19\/>COVID-19 pandemic<\/a>, combined with an election year, has delayed what was already a slow process.\r\n<P><\/P>\r\n\u201cEverything that was moving forward \u2026 got pushed to the back burner,\u201d Raimondi said.\r\n<P><\/P><div class=\"mt-1 mb-1\"><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block; text-align:center;\"\r\n     data-ad-layout=\"in-article\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-8411603009680747\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"6394965691\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n  <\/script><\/div><p><\/p>\r\nCOVID-19 has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uihi.org\/resources\/special-diabetes-program-for-indians-sdpi-mitigating-covid-19-risk\/\" >hit tribal communities<\/a> hard, in part because of high rates of preexisting conditions like diabetes \u2013 one of the top risk factors for more serious and even deadly COVID-19 infections. Diabetes is the fourth-leading cause of death for Native Americans, McSally said in her remarks to the committee, compared to seventh in the general population.\r\n<P><\/P>\r\n\u201cThe COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the critical need to address underlying health conditions such as diabetes,\u201d said McSally, and her bill \u201cwill provide long-term stability\u201d to tribes\u2019 diabetes programs.\r\n<P><\/P>\r\nBohlen said that stability is critical: The last year of funding uncertainty has already started to disrupt the program and \u201cthe level of disruption and despair that\u2019s ensued is astronomical.\u201d It is \u201cnotoriously difficult\u201d at the best of times to recruit and retain medical professionals in Indian Country, where Bohlen said the Indian Health Service has a 25% staff vacancy.\r\n<P><\/P>\r\n\u201cIf you have rumblings every \u2026 11 days that your funding was probably going to run out for your job, would you not be looking for another job?\u201d she said.\r\n<P><\/P><figure>\r\n<IMG class=\"img-fluid wow fadeIn\" \r\nsrc=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2018\/05\/10\/hopipaigehenderson.jpg\" \r\nitemprop=\"image\"><\/IMG> <FIGCAPTION class=figure-caption>A sign on the Hopi \r\nReservation in Arizona. Photo: \r\n<A \r\nhref=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/paigehenderson\/15065419234\/\">Paige \r\nHenderson<\/A> <\/FIGCAPTION> <\/figure>\r\n<P><\/P>\r\nEven before the pandemic hit, uncertain funding kept IHS from awarding new grants to tribes. This kept new tribes from entering the program and kept existing programs on \u201cautopilot,\u201d Bohlen said.\r\n<P><\/P>\r\nAdvocates are hoping the reauthorization can be attached to another appropriations bill or, more likely, rolled into a new coronavirus relief bill. The diabetes program won its longest extension this year as part of the original Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security, or <a >CARES, Act.<\/a>\r\n<P><\/P>\r\nRaimondi said tribes and health advocates will keep pushing Congress with \u201cgreat urgency\u201d to reauthorize the program.\r\n<P><\/P>\r\n\u201cWe can\u2019t afford to not have it,\u201d she said.\r\n<P><\/P>\r\n<STRONG>For more stories from Cronkite News, visit <A href=\"https:\/\/cronkitenews.azpbs.org\/?utm_source=referral&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=client\">cronkitenews.azpbs.org<\/A>.<\/STRONG>\r\n<P><\/P>\r\n<div class=\"h5-responsive sub\">Senate Committee on Indian Affairs Notice<\/div>\r\n<a href=https:\/\/www.indian.senate.gov\/hearing\/legislative-hearing-receive-testimony-s-3126-s-3264-s-3937-s-4079-s-4556>\r\nLegislative Hearing to receive testimony on S. 3126, S. 3264, S. 3937, S. 4079 &#038; S. 4556<\/a> (September 23, 2020)\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<HR><EM>Note: This story originally <a href=\"https:\/\/cronkitenews.azpbs.org\/2020\/09\/30\/hopi-leader-congress-must-act-to-save-life-changing-diabetes-program\/\">appeared on Cronkite News<\/a>.  It  is published via a <A href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/3.0\/\">Creative  Commons license<\/A>. Cronkite News is produced by the <A href=\"https:\/\/cronkite.asu.edu\/\">Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication<\/A> at <A href=\"https:\/\/www.asu.edu\">Arizona State University<\/A>.<\/EM><HR>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A \u201clife-changing\u201d diabetes program for Indian Country will expire unless Congress takes action.","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1875,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_vp_format_video_url":"","_vp_image_focal_point":[],"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[19,1,14],"tags":[50,214,42,46,256,466,464,210,337,307,367,368,260,213,257,91,372,465,247],"class_list":["post-1865","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","category-national","category-politics","tag-116th","tag-appropriations","tag-arizona","tag-cronkite-news","tag-diabetes","tag-h-r-2680","tag-hopi","tag-ihs","tag-krysten-sinema","tag-martha-mcsally","tag-ncuih","tag-nihb","tag-s-3937","tag-scia","tag-sdpi","tag-senate","tag-stacy-bohlen","tag-timothy-nuvangyaoma","tag-tom-ohalleran","no-wpautop"],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pcoJ7g-u5","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/hopireservation.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1865","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1865"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1865\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1875"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1865"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1865"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1865"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}