The Department meets with the Alaska Native Health Board twice a year in a forum called the MEGA meeting. The purpose of the meeting is for Department Division Directors and Tribal leaders to get together to discuss federal and state legislative priorities and initiatives.

 

The MEGA meeting designated a subgroup, the State/Tribal Medicaid Task Force (MTF), to focus specifically on programmatic and financial issues. The MTF includes CEO’s, CFO’s and higher level program and finance representatives to discuss patient care, policy changes, and billing issues at a more detailed level that meet with the Tribal Health Program staff and specific Directors depending on the agenda.  It is an effective alliance in which the state and tribes collaborate to resolve issues. The success of these meetings is due to good working relationships built on trust and mutual interest. Both parties also understand the importance of Medicaid funding to the health care of Alaska Natives and the value of the tribal health care system.

 

The MTF chartered sub-groups to discuss Behavioral Health and Long Term Care issues and report back to the quarterly MTF.  A parallel quarterly meeting is held with the Community Health Aids/Practitioners (CHAP) Directors to discuss patient care access issues and appropriate codes for claiming purposes. 

 

The Tribal Health Program coordinates various projects across the Department.  One of these projects includes the Tribal Medicaid Administrative Claiming (TMAC) program.  The purpose of TMAC is for DHCS and participating Tribal Organizations to share in the responsibility of promoting access to Medicaid/Denali Kidcare to Alaska Natives and American Indians. It  provides additional funds to the Tribes for performing Medicaid outreach and promoting enrollment activities. TMAC assists in enrollment and retention of Alaska Natives and American Indians into the Medicaid and Denali Kidcare programs.

 

The program also work with tribal TANF programs through the Division of Public Assistance and ICWA through the Office of Children’s Services as well as other stakeholder and ad hoc meetings.