INDIAN COUNTRY TODAY

WASHINGTON – The Obama administration is working with tribal leaders to fight against Republican congressional attempts to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), which the U.S. Supreme Court upheld last month, including the permanent reauthorization of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act (IHCIA).

WASHINGTON – In a major victory for the Obama administration, the individual mandate of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) of 2010 has survived under the taxing power of the Congress, according to a widely anticipated decision handed down by the U.S. Supreme Court on June 28. Also surviving is the Indian Health Care Improvement Act (IHCIA), which was part of the larger law and paved the way to permanently reauthorizing some important federal and tribal Indian health-related programs and funding pathways.

Our society is afflicted with diabetes, heart disease, arthritis and cancer, diseases that were less common a century ago. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the incidence of these diseases has been increasing yearly since the 1970’s. American Indians suffer twice the incidence of diabetes and twice the death rates from diabetes as other groups. Polynesians suffer from more arthritis than any other group. Modern medicine can treat these diseases and is even getting much better at curing cancer. 

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WASHINGTON – If the U.S. Supreme Court decides to throw out the Obama administration’s Affordable Care Act (ACA), a major Indian health law would go out with the bathwater.

The widely known law, which would lead to greater health insurance coverage in the United States by 2015, also includes the “permanent” reauthorization Indian Health Care Improvement Act (IHCIA). That portion of the law provides broad support and funding for tribal health programs and for Indian citizens.