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HYDE-SMITH SEEKS TO SOLIDIFY SUPPORT FOR SPECIAL DIABETES PROGRAM FOR INDIANS
At Hearing, Senator Cites Importance of Program to Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians
Hearing Video: Senator Hyde-Smith Addresses Importance of Indian Diabetes Program.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) today sought to solidify support for an American Indian diabetes treatment and prevention program, which is set to expire in September.
Hyde-Smith serves on the Senate Interior Appropriations Subcommittee that conducted a hearing on Wednesday to review the FY2020 budget request of the Indian Health Service (IHS). Hyde-Smith called attention to the Special Diabetes Program for Indians (SDPI), which is used by the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians to combat type 2 diabetes.
“I am optimistic that Congress will take into account the success of the Special Diabetes Program for Indians and continue support for it,” Hyde-Smith said. “It’s important that this program can be held up as a model program when it comes to treating and preventing type 2 diabetes, not just among the Indian people but the overall population.”
At the hearing, Hyde-Smith cited strong support for the SDPI by Phyliss J. Anderson, Chief of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians. Anderson recently wrote to Hyde-Smith that the success of the SPDI in reducing diabetes-related complications allows federal resources to be directed toward other health care needs among tribal communities.
At the hearing, Hyde-Smith asked IHS witnesses to cite how the SPDI has benefited tribes across the nation, including the Mississippi Band of Choctaws.
“We’re looking for any bright light, for any hope, and we sure hope there is improvement,” Hyde-Smith said.
IHS Principal Deputy Director Rear Admiral Michael Weahkee said, “I think our Special Diabetes Program for Indians is one that can be pointed to with great success, and the efficient, effective, accountable use of funds that have been provided to Indian Country.”
IHS Chief Medical Officer Real Admiral Michael Toedt, M.D., testified that the SPDI has resulted in a 54 percent reduction in renal failure among American Indians with type 2 diabetes. He also cited declines in new diabetes cases and in the rate of complications that cause blindness.
“That is the only racial or ethnic group that has had decline in kidney failure and diabetes. So the Special Diabetes Program for Indians is definitely a bright spot, and I think model for other health programs,” Toedt said. “There is still much work to be done. We are still a population that is severely disproportionally affected by diabetes.”
Authorization for SPDI expires at the end of the 2019 fiscal year or Sept. 30. On a separate track, the FY2020 budget request recommends $150 million annually for SDPI next year and in FY2021.
