We support programs that address the social determinants of health in American Indian reservations.
Native American people in Montana experience higher rates of many illnesses and live shorter lives, on average, than non-Native Montanans. These statistics reflect long-standing inequities, not only in health care but in basic needs such as housing, food, and employment. Historically, the funding for wellness and disease prevention programming has met only a tiny fraction of the need.
To date, we have helped seven tribal health departments create wellness and disease prevention programs. We have also begun supporting housing needs assessment, a first step towards addressing the pressing need for housing on reservations.
Visit our Grant Library to learn more about the projects we support.
SPOTLIGHT
The Medicaid Tribal Health Improvement Program
The Medicaid Tribal Health Improvement Program, or “THIP,” was created in 2017 by the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services. It provides tribal health departments with an innovative solution for developing and sustaining programs that target disease prevention by promoting the health and wellness of their members.
Since the program became available, our staff have organized and hosted regular convenings of the THIP Directors – tribal staff tasked with THIP implementation – and, when requested by a tribe, we have provided technical assistance tailored to each tribe’s projects. In 2023, our support focused on helping tribes respond to the changes the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed to the program regarding future offerings and revenue.
Our Support
We support planning for programs to address the basic needs for health, such as housing, food security, education, and employment. We provide grants or contracts with consultants to help tribes plan for and develop new programs and evaluation strategies and to cover start-up costs for new T-HIP programming. All funding under this initiative is by invitation only.
Related
Contact
If you have a question about this initiative, please email our program team.