- Details
- By Native News Online Staff
The first caucus will be held on Tuesday, July 8, at 11 a.m. ET in preparation for four in-person listening sessions on the ongoing realignment of the Indian Health Service (IHS). The in-person listening sessions will be held throughout July in Seattle, Phoenix, Minneapolis, and Washington, D.C., followed by a virtual session on July 28.
In a June 13 letter addressed to the Tribal leaders and Urban Indian Organization leaders, IHS acting director Benjamin Smith (Diné) wrote, “...we must examine what works well and identify where and how the IHS must improve. We must be bold in examining ourselves to transform to a more patient-centered, self-governance-driven, operationally efficient, and fiscally sustainable health care system.”
The listening session will focus on the delivery of patient care, enterprise and operational management, and supporting Tribal self-determination.
Registration information for the caucus can be found here.
The second virtual caucus will be held on July 14 at 2:00 p.m. ET in preparation for a listening session on Tribal feedback and priorities regarding Secretary Kennedy’s announced restructuring of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in accordance with President Trump’s Feb. 13th executive order to reduce government spending. In a flurry of federal budget cuts and firings, HHS has lost about 25,000 staff members. In the FY2026 budget request, the department faces a 25% budget cut, totalling $32 billion in discretionary spending. Proposed restructuring includes reducing the department’s 28 divisions into 15.
The listening session will be held virtually on July 16 and 17 from 12:00 to 5:30 p.m. ET each day. Register for the July 14 caucus here.
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