Trainings

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is committed to helping the Indian Health Service (IHS), Tribal Health Programs, and Urban Indian Programs to maximize their ability to access third party resources. To meet this objective, CMS, in partnership with the States, the Veterans Administration, the Social Security Administration, and the IHS, provides training to patient benefits advocates on the programs and benefits available through Medicare, Medicaid, the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and the Health Insurance Marketplace.

The target audience for the CMS ITU trainings is:

• Business Office staff
• Benefits Coordinators
• Patient Registration staff
• Medical Records staff
• Purchased Referred Care Services staff

Upcoming Trainings: The CMS Division of Tribal Affairs will be offering both in-person and virtual trainings organized by IHS geographic Areas.  The in-person trainings are listed in the chart below. We encourage ITU staff to register for the training being held for their respective areas as the agendas will be developed to address issues for particular Areas and State Medicaid/CHIP presentations for states located in the IHS Areas. However, if you are not able to attend a particular topic during your IHS Area training event, you may register for webinars in other Areas.

Continuing Education Credits (CEUs): You will receive 1 CEU from AAPC (American Academy of Professional Coders) for each webinar you attend for up to a maximum of 14 CEU’s for the virtual training series.  Because the agenda presentations will vary from Area, the number of CEUs available for each training will vary.  You will need to participate in the full training and not log off webinars early to receive the CEU certificate.  At the end of each training, you will be sent an online evaluation form to complete.  Your feedback is important to help us improve.  After completing the evaluation, you will receive your CEU’s for training.  Refer to training agendas and specific Save the Date Notices for deadlines for submitting evaluations in order to receive the CEUs.

 2025 ITU Trainings

2025 training planning is in progress. We are holding five in-person trainings and five virtual trainings. An update on dates for virtual trainings will be announced soon.  Please see in person training dates below: