Covid-19: Indian Health Service increases testing, funds for tribal and urban health programs
By Lee Egerstrom In a pair of announcements in late May, the Department of Health and Human Services announced it is awarding $1.25 billion to the Indian Health Service (IHS) in new funding for tribal and urban Native American hospitals, clinics and health programs fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. The initial announcement, on May 19, said […]
US Native American health agency at crossroads
By the Associated Press Emergency rooms shut down for months. Hospitals put patients at risk for opioid abuse and overdoses. A longtime pediatrician was charged with sexually abusing children. The federal agency that administers health care for more than 2.5 million Native Americans has long been plagued with problems that have kept it from improving health care […]
IHS hospitals put Native Americans at opioid risk, audit says
By the Associated Press U.S. government hospitals placed Native American patients at increased risk for opioid abuse and overdoses, failing to follow their own protocols for prescribing and dispensing the drugs, according to a federal audit made public in July. The report by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General does not draw conclusions about actual […]
Open Letter to Speaker of the House Paul Ryan on ACA
Letters to the Editor Dear Mr. Speaker, If successful, the Republican campaign to abolish the Affordable Care Act (ACA) would repeal authorization for the Indian Healthcare Improvement Act (IHCIA), which was included in the ACA, and repeal other provisions that increased access to care for American Indians and Alaska Natives. Destroying the ACA will make […]