WASHINGTON, DC – Tuesday, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) applauded Senate passage of a landmark Indian health law by 83 to 10. The bill, a 10-year reauthorization of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act, is the product of almost a decade of work by Indian Tribes and Congress. As a member of the Indian Affairs and Finance Committees, Cantwell, an original cosponsor of the bill, helped steer the legislation through the committee process.   

 

“Improving the delivery of health care services for American Indians is long overdue,” said Cantwell. “Overall trends in the health of this population are simply unacceptable. American Indians and Alaskan Natives across the country are 400 percent more likely to die from tuberculosis, 291 percent more likely to die from diabetes complications, and 67 percent more likely to die from influenza and pneumonia than other groups.  Passage of this bill in the Senate is a critical first step to strengthening health care services for American Indians, and living up to our long-standing trust responsibility to provide for their well-being.”

 

First enacted in 1976, the Indian Health Care Improvement Act is the framework for most of the federal government’s Indian health care programs.  The bill passed today makes critical improvements designed to modernize the delivery of services. It also addresses the chronic under-enrollment of American Indians in our nation's safety net programs, such as Medicaid, by increasing outreach to the Tribes. Finally, it prohibits states from imposing cost-sharing on enrollees served by Indian health programs. 

 

Cantwell co-sponsored two amendments that were included in the final version of the bill.  The first amendment adds an official resolution of apology for the federal government’s long history of ill-conceived policies regarding Indian Tribes. Currently, Washington state tribes are in desperate need of additional health care facilities and health care staff.  Cantwell's second amendment aims to correct the facilities construction funding structure that currently uses outdated criteria for allocating federal dollars to health facilities. 

 

With passage of the reauthorization bill, Cantwell will now turn her attention to the chronic under-funding of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act.  It is estimated that its programs are funded at only 40 percent of need, leaving Northwest Tribes with annual resources that fall far short of service demand.  

 

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