RCW 43.71B.030 Indian health improvement advisory plan.

(1) With assistance from the authority, the commission, and other member entities of the advisory council, the reinvestment committee of the advisory council shall prepare and amend from time to time a biennial Indian health improvement advisory plan to:

(a) Develop programs directed at raising the health status of American Indians and Alaska Natives and reducing the health inequities that these communities experience; or

(b) Help the state, the Indian health service, tribes, and urban Indian organizations, statewide or in regions, improve delivery systems for American Indians and Alaska Natives by increasing access to care, strengthening continuity of care, and improving population health through investments in capacity and infrastructure.

(2) The advisory plan shall include the following:

(a) An assessment of Indian health and Indian health care in the state;

(b) Specific recommendations for programs, projects, or activities, along with recommended reinvestment account expenditure amounts and priorities for expenditures, for the next two state fiscal bienniums. The programs, projects, and activities may include but are not limited to:

(i) The creation and expansion of facilities operated by Indian health services, tribes, and urban Indian health programs providing evaluation, treatment, and recovery services for opioid use disorder, other substance use disorders, mental illness, or specialty care;

(ii) Improvement in access to, and utilization of, culturally appropriate primary care, mental health, and substance use disorder and recovery services;

(iii) The elimination of barriers to, and maximization of, federal funding of substance use disorder and mental health services under the programs established in chapter 74.09 RCW;

(iv) Increased availability of, and identification of barriers to, crisis and related services established in chapter 71.05 RCW, with recommendations to increase access including, but not limited to, involuntary commitment orders, designated crisis responders, and discharge planning;

(v) Increased access to quality, culturally appropriate, trauma-informed specialty services, including adult and pediatric psychiatric services, medication consultation, and addiction or geriatric psychiatry;

(vi) A third-party administrative entity to provide, arrange, and make payment for services for American Indians and Alaska Natives;

(vii) Expansion of suicide prevention services, including culture-based programming, to instill and fortify cultural practices as a protective factor;

(viii) Expansion of traditional healing services;

(ix) Development of a community health aide program, including a community health aide certification board for the state consistent with 25 U.S.C. Sec. 1616l, and support for community health aide services;

(x) Health information technology capability within tribes and urban Indian organizations to assure the technological capacity to: (A) Produce sound evidence for Indian health care provider best practices; (B) effectively coordinate care between Indian health care providers and non-Indian health care providers; (C) provide interoperability with state claims and reportable data systems, such as for immunizations and reportable conditions; and (D) support patient-centered medical home models, including sufficient resources to purchase and implement certified electronic health record systems, such as hardware, software, training, and staffing;

(xi) Support for care coordination by tribes and other Indian health care providers to mitigate barriers to access to care for American Indians and Alaska Natives, with duties to include without limitation: (A) Follow-up of referred appointments; (B) routine follow-up care for management of chronic disease; (C) transportation; and (D) increasing patient understanding of provider instructions;

(xii) Expanded support for tribal and urban Indian epidemiology centers to create a system of epidemiological analysis that meets the needs of the state's American Indian and Alaska Native population; and

(xiii) Other health care services and public health services that contribute to reducing health inequities for American Indians and Alaska Natives in the state and increasing access to quality, culturally appropriate health care for American Indians and Alaska Natives in the state; and

(c) Review of how programs, projects, or activities that have received investments from the reinvestment account have or have not achieved the objectives and why.

[ 2019 c 282 § 4.]