Native Health News
News and Information for the Native American Community
1/22/08
Congress Called Upon to Increase Funding for Urban Indian Health Care
This story is excerpted from an article appearing in The Nation's Health.
Nearly seven out of ten American Indians and Alaska Natives live in or near large metropolitan areas, yet health care services have not grown to meet the demands brought by this massive migration. While various treaties signed over the past one hundred years guarantee rights to health care, recent policies rob many American Indians and Alaska Natives of that care when they move to urban areas.
Now a bill is circulating in Congress calling for increased attention to urban health services. The bill is part of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act Amendments of 2007. You can read more about the bill and about urban Indian health issues in an article written by Teddi Dineley Johnson on the Website of the American Public Health Association.
Martin Waukazoo, NAHC's Chief Executive Officer, was contacted for the article and told Johnson that the 34 urban Indian health care programs in the United States have made some progress in addressing urban Indian health needs, but went on to say that "the resources are not coming in to address the population."
