274525 Health Equity in the American Indian Community

Monday, October 29, 2012 : 3:06 PM - 3:17 PM

Donald Warne, MD, MPH , Master of Public Health Program, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND
American Indians suffer from among the worst health disparities in the nation. The American Indian population is unique in that tribal members are the only population born with a legal right to health services. This is based on treaties and other legal bases in which the tribes exchanged land and natural resources for various social services, including housing, education and healthcare. Although the United States has benefitted remarkably from these resources, they have not lived up to their treaty obligations to tribes in terms of the provision of health services. The Indian Health Service (IHS) is an agency located within the Department of Health and Human Services, and it is the federal agency charged with the responsibility of providing public health and medical services to American Indians. Unfortunately, the IHS is significantly underfunded, and therefore health disparities are worsening.

Many tribes have been able to improve their healthcare systems by taking over the management and delivery of health services from the IHS. In this session we will discuss examples of tribes that are improving access to health services, strategies for achieving health equity, and the potential impact of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act on American Indian healthcare.

Learning Areas:
Advocacy for health and health education
Diversity and culture
Public health or related public policy

Learning Objectives:
• Describe the unique relationship that tribes have with the United States government and how that relationship has an impact on the provision of health services and health disparities • Describe American Indian health disparities and the relationship between those disparities and health policy at the federal, state and tribal levels • Differentiate among the concepts of health equity, health parity and health equality from an American Indian perspective

Keywords: American Indians, Health Reform

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have worked in American Indian Health Policy for 2 decades and am an expert on the impact of PPACA and other laws on the provision of healthcare to American Indians.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 3313.0: Health Equity: Are We Making Progress through a Communities of Color Lens?