Murkowski, Colleagues Introduce Legislation to Support AI/AN Health Organizations
Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Patty Murray (D-WA) introduced legislation that would allow U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) Commissioned Corps officers to be assigned to Urban Indian Organizations (UIOs). The PHS ACCESS Act addresses an oversight in current law to authorize these assignments and establishes an incentive program for officers serving in remote and rural areas. The bill is co-sponsored by U.S. Senators Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV).
Forty-one UIOs nationwide offer comprehensive, community-based, culturally competent healthcare services, fulfilling the healthcare needs of the American Indian and Alaska Native population. UIOs play a critical role in serving the healthcare needs of the estimated 2.9 million urban American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/ANs), who make up approximately 70% of the total AI/AN population. However, these organizations face significant healthcare workforce shortages that limit their capacity to meet the unique needs of their patient population.
“UIOs provide far more than a place for an annual check-up; they deliver culturally grounded care that reflects the needs and values of the communities they serve,” Senator Murkowski said. “All Native people deserve access to quality health care, whether they live in a city or a rural community. Ensuring these facilities are adequately staffed will strengthen health outcomes for American Indian and Alaska Native communities nationwide and help fill a critical gap in care.”
“Everyone deserves high quality health care. That’s why the work that our Public Health Service Officers do is so critical—they keep Americans healthy and conduct research that saves lives,” said Senator Murray. “This bipartisan legislation would make common sense changes to cut red tape to ensure that PHS Officers can be deployed to Urban Indian Organizations to better serve Native communities and make it more affordable for local agencies to bring on officers. I will always fight for federal funding and policies to make sure Tribal communities get the support they need, no matter where they live.”
“This bipartisan legislation takes a commonsense step to strengthen our public health workforce and ensure Urban Indian Organizations have the personnel they need to deliver quality care,” Senator Tillis said. “By expanding access to U.S. Public Health Service officers and supporting service in rural and underserved areas, we can help close critical gaps and improve health outcomes for Native communities across the country.”
“Nevada’s Urban Indian health facilities are chronically understaffed,” said Senator Cortez Masto. “Even the best doctors and nurses can’t provide patients with the quality of care that they need if there simply aren’t enough of them. This commonsense fix gives the Department of Health and Human Services the flexibility it needs to ensure that Tribal communities across the Silver State can get the health care they need.”
“We are grateful to Senators Murkowski and Murray for championing this bipartisan effort to allow U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Officers to be detailed directly at urban Indian organizations. Due to limited funding, Urban Indian Organizations continue to face significant challenges in recruiting and retaining skilled health care professionals, and detailing Commissioned Officers help them address workforce shortages and increase collaboration across the federal health care system. Recently, Secretary Kennedy detailed 70 officers to Indian Health Service facilities to help stabilize staffing needs. We urge Congress to pass this legislation swiftly so that Urban Indian Organizations can similarly benefit from this vital workforce support,” said Francys Crevier (Algonquin), CEO of National Council of Urban Indian Health.
“Access to care is critical to achieving the vision that Alaska Native people are the healthiest people in the world,” said Monique R. Martin, the Vice President of Intergovernmental Affairs at the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium. “The PHS Access Act is a strong step forward in strengthening the services we provide and improving the health and well-being of the people we serve. ANTHC thanks Senator Murkowski for her leadership in introducing this legislation.”
"Senators Murray and Murkowski are leading a critical effort to address one of Indian Country's greatest healthcare challenges—staffing shortages,” said Esther Lucero (Diné), president and CEO of Seattle Indian Health Board. “We are grateful this bipartisan bill recognizes the needs of urban Indian clinics alongside tribal health facilities. With approximately 76% of American Indians and Alaska Natives living in urban areas, their right to healthcare doesn't end beyond their traditional homelands."
The full text of the bill can be found here.
Background
Current law allows Health and Human Services to assign USPHS officers to specific entities but does not directly grant this authority to UIOs to authorize USPHS Commissioned Corps officers to perform healthcare services and supportive functions.
This legislation also follows the constructive service credit model adopted by the Department of Defense to make the program discretionary for all USPHS Commission Corps officers. This will provide the necessary flexibility for USPHS to adapt incentives to evolving personnel and mission needs moving forward.
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