Whereas Congress considers probably large cuts to federal Medicaid funding, tribal well being leaders are bracing for a disaster.
Indian Nation has a singular relationship to Medicaid, as a result of this system helps tribes cowl power funding shortfalls left by the Indian Well being Service, the federal company accountable for offering well being care to Native People.
With the associated Youngsters’s Well being Insurance coverage Program, Medicaid offers protection to greater than one million Native People. The joint state-federal program additionally accounts for about two-thirds of non-IHS income for tribal well being suppliers. That revenue helps create monetary stability and covers some operational prices for tribal hospitals and clinics. Tribal leaders need an exemption from any cuts and are getting ready for a struggle to protect their entry.
“Medicaid is likely one of the methods through which the federal authorities meets its belief and treaty obligations to supply well being care to us,” mentioned Liz Malerba, director of coverage and legislative affairs for the United South and Jap Tribes Sovereignty Safety Fund, a nonprofit advocacy group for 33 tribes spanning from Texas to Maine. Malerba is a citizen of the Mohegan Tribe.
“So we view any disruption or minimize to Medicaid as an abrogation of that duty,” she mentioned.
Final month, the Home authorized a finances decision that requires lawmakers to chop spending to offset tax breaks. The Home Committee on Vitality and Commerce, which oversees spending on Medicaid, is instructed to slash $880 billion over the subsequent decade.
The IHS tasks that it’s going to invoice Medicaid about $1.3 billion this fiscal yr, which represents lower than half of 1% of general federal spending on Medicaid.
If Congress makes huge cuts to this system, tribal well being services will possible must reduce providers for a inhabitants that experiences extreme well being disparities, a excessive incidence of power sickness, and a shorter life expectancy.
“Whenever you’re speaking about someplace between 30% to 60% of a facility’s finances is made up by Medicaid {dollars}, that’s a really troublesome gap to try to backfill,” mentioned Winn Davis, congressional relations director for the Nationwide Indian Well being Board.
We encourage organizations to republish our content material, freed from cost. Right here’s what we ask:
You have to credit score us as the unique writer, with a hyperlink to our kffhealthnews.org website. If potential, please embody the unique writer(s) and KFF Well being Information” within the byline. Please protect the hyperlinks within the story.
It’s essential to notice, not the whole lot on kffhealthnews.org is obtainable for republishing. If a narrative is labeled “All Rights Reserved,” we can’t grant permission to republish that merchandise.
Have questions? Tell us at KHNHelp@kff.org
