American Indians entitled to better health care pl

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American Indians entitled to better health care plan

By: Clint Waltman

Posted: 2/8/08

American Indians are given an interesting niche in today's media. They
are brought up in editorials about sports mascots, then quietly pushed
aside until the next national holiday or "cultural spotlight" feature.
The community deserves to be more than counterpoints in stories of
political correctness. There are more pressing issues. Namely, the
American Indian health care system is dismal, embarrassing and broken.

American Indians have an infant mortality rate 150 percent greater than
the rest of the population, a 650 percent greater chance of dying from
tuberculosis and more than a 300 percent greater chance of dying of
diabetes. They also have the highest suicide rate of any ethnic group.
In Great Plains reservations, like those in Nebraska, this rate is 10
times the national average.

It is also noteworthy that Indian Health Services receives less health
aid per capita than any other federal health care program. This includes
federal prisoners, who receive more than double the aid per capita than
American Indians receive.

Dr. Donald Warne, in an editorial in Indian Country Today, wrote: "While
I would not recommend it to my patients, if they go to federal prison
they would have access to more health care resources."

Federal relief has come in the form of the reauthorization of the Indian
Health Care Improvement Act, the first step toward comprehensive Indian
health care reform. The bill has been cosponsored by 30 senators
including Nebraska's Ben Nelson, as well as several Republicans.

The act has not been reauthorized since 1992, although there have been
unsuccessful attempts since then to enact the bill. In those 16 years,
the American Indian population has grown and has seen new challenges
while Indian Health Services remains severely underfunded. The bill is
urgently needed.

Bill sponsor Sen. Byron Dorgan remains optimistic the legislation will
pass in the face of a threatened presidential veto, telling Indian
Country Today, "I think we're going to get a good bill, and it will be
hard for him to justify a veto."

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell moved to delay the bill's debate,
stating that it wasn't as important as the passing of the Foreign
Intelligence Surveillance Act. To McConnell, ''American lives will not
depend on the passage of Indian health care by the end of this month."

There are 4.1 million American Indians who might have a different say.

The passage of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act will lead to the
construction and modernization of health clinics, increase tribe
members' access to Medicare and Medicaid, increase screening for cancer,
create preventive programs for diabetes and fund mental health services.

The immediate concern of this legislation is its cost to American
taxpayers. This cost is relatively low. Granted, any federal spending
outside of the neoconservative ideology is met with scrutiny, but this
bill is cheap. A Congressional Office Budget Report estimates the cost
of implementing this legislation is just $10 per U.S. citizen.

Compare those ten dollars with the estimated $20,000 price tag to the
average American family for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The $3
billion legislation is what the Iraq war costs in one week.

Another concern undoubtedly raised in the passage of the act is that the
act is unfair to the millions of other Americans without proper health
care. Although ideally everyone would have adequate health care,
continuing to properly fund American Indian health care is not catering
to special interests - it is a matter of legality.

American Indians, unlike the rest of the population, are entitled to
health care via contracts between tribal nations and the federal
government. Their "free" health care was paid for into perpetuity in
land seceded to the government in the last three centuries.

If there are Americans who are opposed to federal funding of Indian
health care programs, they should to write to their senators to repeal
these treaties - and then say goodbye to the state of Wyoming.

Both conservative and liberal presidents have respected this agreement
throughout the years. President Nixon wrote, in a message to the
Congress of Indian Affairs, "the Indians have often surrendered claims
to vast tracts of land and have accepted life on government
reservations. In exchange, the government has agreed to provide
community services such as health... to allow Indian communities to
enjoy a standard of living comparable to that of other Americans."

Nixon went on to say to dishonor the agreement "would be no more
appropriate than to terminate the citizenship rights of any other
American."

Since Nixon wrote this message, things have gotten worse. In 1970 Nixon,
was concerned with a 50 percent higher infant mortality rate and twice
as high of suicide rate. Juxtapose those numbers with today's
statistics, and it paints a stark picture.

American Indians are a people that continually suffer when the U.S.
government fails to meet its obligations. The passage of the Indian
Health Care Improvement Act will show an America beginning to honor a
long-held commitment.

If even Richard Nixon can show empathy, perhaps George Bush can, too.

CLINT WALTMAN IS A SENIOR BIOLOGY AND PSYCHOLOGY MAJOR. REACH HIM AT
[e-mail]