Bill hearing forces Montana state health department to the table
Kaiden Forman-WebsterICT + MTFP
New legislation in the Montana state legislature is seeking to revive a key position in the Department of Public Health and Human Services.
State Sen. Susan Webber, Blackfeet, last week brought a bill that would create a tribal relations management team, effectively reviving the tribal relations manager position and ensuring that role cannot be absorbed by the American Indian Health Director. With a particular carve out that directly addresses the position and the Director of American Indian Health may collaborate together but the position will need to be held by separate individuals.
Webber said this addition is to ensure that the Department does not just create the Tribal Relations Manager Team to have two positions in name, but only one individual to handle the requirements of both. The relations position will focus on consultation between the tribes and state regarding health related issues while the AIHD will be focused on administrative issues.
Webber took a different approach to the bill's hearing by introducing it and immediately following it up by requesting the committee table her bill.
The reasoning for this abnormal move by Webber to table her own bill during the hearing was that she had accomplished the goal she set out to achieve.
Bringing this bill forward was a way to force the Department of Public Health and Human Services to come to the table and address the call for communication and the tribal relations position to be created again.
Had the department been in communication from the beginning, 'I would have never brought this bill if that was the case. I got their attention, and now that I know that they are responding through their department policy, that is a win as well. and even though this is not enshrined in code [the tribal relations position]. The point is that it is going to be working.'
During her hearing, Webber took it as a chance to voice her frustration with the lack of communication with DPHHS.
'I initiated contact with the department in regard to the position for a month and never got a response,' Webber said.
After the Medicaid hearing Webber assumed that this lack of communication would change but it did not. It was at the request of tribal governments that Webber brought this bill forward.
Earlier this session, a committee hearing took place to provide an opportunity for tribal voices to speak their opinions and concerns regarding Medicaid and Medicaid Expansion. During this meeting, the Tribal Manager Position that previously existed within the Department of Public Health and Human Services was terminated after Lesa Evers retired in 2021 and became a focal point of conversation and put into question why this position no longer exists.Many spoke out against this decision taken by the Department of Public Health and Human Services, stating that consultation between tribes and state fell drastically upon the elimination of this position.
'So I'm back, the tribes and I never got a response and the lack of response was a concern. Previously through this position we had very strong communication, this no longer exists. The tribes' healthcare is in the hands of this department and because of this we have a real stake in this department,' Webber said. 'Now that I got the bill and now that it's being heard, they [the DPHHS] finally speak up about the progress they are going to make. I hope this keeps their feet to the fire.'
Both Webber and Montana tribes reached out to the DPHHS to discuss the position but never received a response
'I wanted them at the table and this is how I did it. I expect changes and table the bill.' said Webber. 'Answering the communications would have gone a long way.'
A possible concern would be what if this move fails and the DPHHS still refuses to create this position within the department and maintain open communication. When asked about this possibility Webber was confident that 'they will do it'
There is still no confirmation that the department has taken any concrete actions to remedy the situation but that may change with the upcoming Montana American Indian Caucus meeting.
'We'll see what comes next week, we're going to have the DPHHS. Brereton said he was not going to go,' said Webber.
The caucus meets every Wednesday to discuss pertinent issues and future endeavors. In next week's meeting Webber believes the caucus and the department will be able to address the position and its duties going forward.
The tribal relations manager was responsible for communicating between the Department of Health and Human Services and tribal governments across the state. Evers served in the position for 11 years, kept in close contact with tribal leaders and community members to ensure tribes were included in important health care decisions.
The state health department, however, quietly eliminated Evers' position last year when she retired. Duties of the tribal relations manager were instead absorbed by the DPHHS director of American Indian health.
When asked about the decision, a spokesperson from DPHHS in January told Montana Free Press the tribal relations manager duties 'were not eliminated.'
'Rather, these tasks were incorporated into the duties of the [Office of American Indian Health] director to reduce confusion and create a strong, uniform structure for serving tribal populations,' they wrote in an email.
Tribal leaders, however, criticized the decision to combine the roles, saying they weren't consulted in the matter. Communication between the state agency and tribal governments, they said, is especially vital considering Native Americans face persistent health disparities. From 2018 to 2022, Native Americans, on average, died 17 years sooner than their white counterparts in Montana, according to DPHHS data.
The DPHHS is vital to Indigenous health, Webber in an interview with MTFP and ICT and stressed her disapproval with the Department Director Brereton lack of urgency in this matter.
Proponents of the bill included Keaton Sunchild, speaking on behalf of Western Native Voice. He attested to the unusual nature of the hearing, while also taking it as a chance to voice his concern.
'Just keeping in mind, going forward, into the second half of the session, that this shouldn't have gotten to this point,' Sunchild said. 'We're hoping that the government-to-government consultation, that that will continue to happen going forward, so that we don't have to do this again.'
This story is co-published by Montana Free Press and ICT, a news partnership that covers the Montana American Indian Caucus during the state's 2025 legislative session
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