I mW& 1 SMOKE SIGNALS
Letter to the Editor
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Stcfik "PUifi Smd 5-7- 97 S'HMud'Ztefutd
You know the saying "It takes a tribe to raise
a child," well its true. About 3 weeks before I
was due to give birth to our first child, my hus
band and I found out that my son had a con
genital diaphragmatic hernia. This meant that
he was born with a hole in his diaphragm
muscle, which allowed his bowel and liver to
be in his chest cavity, hindering the growth of
his right lung. The doctors gave him a 60
chance of survival. I asked my doctor what I
could do to help my baby. Dr. Polo said to be
strong for my baby and that's all I could do. I
thought about it, cried a lot, then decided if that is the only thing I can do for my baby, I am going to do it the
best I can. We became stronger with knowledge, love, prayer, family and friends.
Friends like Penny DeLoe, Julie Little and Margo Mercier helped us with the emergency enrollment for
Stephen Philip. This allowed Stephen to become a member the day after he was born, so that he would be
covered by ODS insurance and contract health. This lifted the financial stress especially since we knew our
hospital bills would be more than we could handle. Thank you for that peace of mind, your kind and loving
words, and thank you to everyone at Grand Ronde for being there.
After six weeks at the neonatal intensive care unit at Emanuel Hospital and 3 surgeries later, we came
home. Today, Stephen Philip is the picture of health! We know that we have many challenges yet to face but
we know we can do it with love, prayer, friends and family. Thank you again for your compassionate hearts!
Sincerely,
Diane (Roll 1652), David, and Stephen Smith
Proposed amendments to Ordinances
Tribal Council is posting these proposed amendments to the Election and Enrollment Ordi
nances which will become effective for the 1998 Tribal Council Election. These proposed
amendments will be published in two issues before being approvedchanged by Council.
All comments regarding these ordinance changes should be sent to Francis Somday,
Executive Officer, by September 1, 1997.
ELECTION ORDINANCE
Add the following new subsection (c) (4):
YojLAddressLisL Each Year, the Enrollment Office shall prepare a list of the names and addresses of
all tribal members who have a verified Voter Registration Form on file with the Tribal Enrollment Office
as of that year's May General Council Meeting. The Enrollment Office shall delete from this list all
tribal members who have on his or her voter registration card stated that he or she does not want his or
her name and address given to Tribal Council candidates and, for tribal members registration prior to
(the date this amendment is effective), all tribal member names and addresses for which the Enrollment
Office has a statement signed by the tribal member requesting that his or her name and address not to be
given to candidates. The remaining names and addresses on the list shall be referred to as the "Voter
Address List." On the second Tuesday following the date the Board, the Enrollment Office shall mail a
copy of the Voter Address List to all certified candidates for election.
The next change to the Election Ordinance addresses the language that appears on the Voter Regis
tration Form which tribal members must complete and sign before they can vote in tribal elections.
Amend Clause (c) (2) (B) (I) as follows:
Replace the word "and" after the word "signature" in the fifth line with a "," and add the following at the
end of this clause:
"and the following statement:
'Your name and address will be provided to all certified candidates for election to Tribal Council
unless you check the box below.
No. I do not wish my name and address released to Tribal Council candidates.'"
The resolution adopting this amendment requests that Smoke Signals print the previous statement
on a form that can be clipped and returned to the Enrollment Office by voters who do not wish to
have their name and address released to candidates.
ENROLLMENT ORDINANCE
Delete the current subscription (c) (5) and replace with the following:
Access to Records. Confidentiality: The Tribe's Executive Officer, Administrative Officer, attorneys
and legal staff, Enrollment Committee members and enrollment staff shall have access to enrollment
records for official tribal business, including litigation and custody proceedings involving the Tribe. A
tribal member or applicant for tribal membership (or the person who filed the application in the case of
a minor or incompetent pursuant to subsection (d)(3) here of) may inspect his or her own enrollment
record at the Enrollment Office during regular business hours. Except at thus provided, all enrollment
records shall be confidential. Disclosure of enrollment records to someone than the persons specified or
use of enrollment records in a manner other than that specified herein shall be grounds for termination of
employment or cause for removal from Enrollment Committee.
25 MILE RADIUS ENFORCED
Contract Health Services (CHS) would like to remind tribal mem
bers of some important IHS standards that are going to be enforced.
Many tribal members now have a primary insurance since the tribe
offered the new ODS plan. Most primary insurance plans require
you to choose a primary care provider. According to IHS standards,
if a tribal member resides within a 25 mile radius of an IHS medical
clinic, in order for CHS to pay for co-payments and deductibles you
must choose a primary care provider from that IHS clinic. The clin
ics involved in the Six County Service Area that you may reside
within 25 miles of are the Chemawa Medical Clinic in Salem, and
the Tribal Health Clinic in Grand Ronde. The providers in both of
these clinics are primary care providers with ODS. If you choose to
pick a primary care provider that is not in one of these clinics and
you reside in the 25 mile radius of that clinic YOU WILL BE RE
SPONSIBLE FOR ALL OF YOUR OWN CO-PAYS AND
DEDUCTIBLES. If you have a question as to whether or not you
live within the 25 mile radius you may call CHS. .
The towns considered within the 25 MILE RADIUS OF CHE
MAWA CLINIC: Salem, Keizer, Aumsville, Turner, Stayton,
Woodburn, Brooks, and Silverton. Within the 25 MILE RADIUS
OF THE GRAND RONDE TRIBAL CLINIC: Grand Ronde,
Willamina, Sheridan, and Balston.
Once you have chosen a primary care provider it is your responsi
bility to see that provider for all your medical services or get a refer
ral from that provider to go to another provider. This includes emer
gency room visits, urgent care visits, and hospitalizations. If you
don't get a referral from your primary care provider your bill will be
denied from your primary insurance for not using your primary care
provider. CHS will deny the bill for failure to use your alternate
resource correctly.
You still must follow the following guidelines:
1. You must call in all appointments as soon as you know about
them for pre-authorization, unless you are being seen at an IHS clinic.
The confirmation number we give you is for that specific date of
service to the provider you name. If you chose to go elsewhere or on
another date, that confirmation number will not be good. If you do
not call, the bill could be denied for no notification.
2. It will also be your responsibility to let your provider know if you
have another insurance besides Contract Health so they can bill them
first and CHS secondary. You need to make sure that the provider
you choose accepts your insurance.
3. The same timeline is still in effect that all appointments must be
called in as soon as you know about them, preferably in advance.
All emergency room visits and hospital admits must be called in within
72 hours of the date of service.
4. If you are admitted into the hospital and have no other insurance
other than CHS, then you will be required to apply for the Oregon
Health Plan as an alternate resource. We will not be able to pay any
of your bills for that hospital visit until we either receive a denial or
acceptance from Oregon Health Plan. If you fail to comply with this
rule in a timely manner your bills for this hospital stay and support
ing bills will be denied.
5. All dental visits will be treated the same way as medical visits
with this one exception: we will only authorize one exam and clean
ing every twelve months. We will require a pretreatment plan from
your dentist for all other dental work needed. We will return it to
your dentist with the services that will be covered by CHS. You will
still need to call in each date of service for authorization.
6. If you have received a letter from ODS asking for information
about providers you have seen in the last six months, make sure you
fill the form out and return it to ODS. They may not pay on your
bills until they receive this information back. Your provider will not
bill CHS until they receive an explanation of benifits from ODS.
If you have questions call Julie Little, Penny Deloe, or Teri
Holsclaw at 1-800-775-0095 or 879-5211.