In nearly fifteen years of practicing medicine and working in various capacities in American Indian healthcare, for the first time I feel a strong sense of hope. Senator Barack Obama has said that if he is elected President, he would ”fully fund” the Indian Health Service. What does that mean to me and the other 4.1 million American Indians?
In this nation, people are not born with a legal right to healthcare. There are some laws like the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA) that provide access to limited services in limited circumstances for all Americans, but we are not born with an inherent right to healthcare services. This is true for the majority of Americans with the exception of American Indians. We are the only population born with a legal right to healthcare.
This right is based on treaties, which are essentially contracts between the tribal nations and the federal government in which the tribes exchanged vast amounts of land and natural resources for certain social services, including housing, education and healthcare. This is why we have a Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and an Indian Health Service (IHS). From this perspective, American Indians have the largest pre-paid health plan in the nation. The land and natural resources that have made this country as successful and powerful as it is was not won in a war with the tribes. It was exchanged for these services and programs. As a result, the federal government has a trust responsibility to provide healthcare to American Indians. full story
Leave a comment