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Statement from IHS Director Roselyn Tso on the President's Fiscal Year 2025 Budget
The President’s Fiscal Year 2025 Budget, released today, builds on the historic achievement and successful implementation of advance appropriations and includes a total of $8.2 billion for the Indian Health Service in FY 2025, which is an increase of $1.1 billion or 16 percent above FY 2023. The budget also continues the administration’s support for full mandatory funding for the IHS, beginning in FY 2026. These major investments demonstrate the continued commitment to work to raise the physical, mental, social, and spiritual health of American Indians and Alaska Natives to the highest level and strengthen the nation-to-nation relationship.
The FY 2025 budget is reflective of tribal and urban Indian organization leader priorities, as it includes significant funding increases beginning in FY 2025 towards the top tribal budget recommendations. In FY 2025, the budget includes a total of $8 billion in discretionary funding, as well as $260 million in proposed mandatory funding for the Special Diabetes Program for Indians.
In FY 2026, the budget makes all funding for IHS mandatory, culminating in a total funding level of approximately $42 billion in FY 2034. This mandatory budget proposal builds towards the tribal recommendation of full funding. In total, the mandatory formula would provide a net increase of $208 billion over the discretionary baseline. Under the proposed mandatory formula, IHS funding would grow automatically to address inflationary factors, key operational needs, and existing backlogs in both health care services and facilities infrastructure. The budget also proposes to make IHS funding exempt from sequestration.
Over a five-year period, the budget provides an increase of more than $17 billion to expand direct health care services and close the Indian Health Care Improvement Fund Level of Need gap. It also includes an additional $6.5 billion to finalize modernization of the IHS electronic health record system. The budget would also fully fund the remaining projects on the 1993 Health Care Facilities Construction Priority List and start funding other construction needs in 2031.
These major steps demonstrate the Biden Administration’s continued commitment to honoring the United States’ trust responsibility to tribal nations, strengthening the nation-to-nation relationship, and improving the health of American Indians and Alaska Natives throughout Indian Country.
The IHS will hold a call for tribal and urban Indian organization leaders on March 13, from 4:00 – 5:00 p.m. ET to discuss the FY 2025 President’s Budget. Please find more information on the IHS Calendar.
