Last night, the U.S. Senate passed a two (2) year renewal of the Special Diabetes Program for Indians (SDPI).  The renewal was contained in a larger bill called: "H.R. 2 - The Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015."   The measure was passed the Senate by a bipartisan vote of 92-8.  This follows action by the U.S. House of Representatives on March 26, 2015, which also passed the legislation by a bipartisan vote.  President Obama is expected to sign the legislation into law. 

SDPI is one of many programs in this legislation.  Other provisions included a 2-year authorization of the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and a permanent adjustment of the Medicare physician payment formula.  You can read a summary of the legislation here. 

SDPI provides critical programs that are helping our Tribal communities address complications and burdens of Type 2 diabetes. The newly-passed legislation funds SDPI at $150 million per year, which is the same as the current level. This program will now expire on September 30, 2017.