Native Americans receive Gov. health care (not so good)

Native Americans have received federally funded health care for decades. A series of treaties, court cases and acts passed by Congress requires that the government provide low-cost and, in many cases, free care to American Indians. The Indian Health Service (IHS) is charged with delivering that care.

Unfortunately, Indians are not getting healthier under the federal system. In 2007, rates of infant mortality among Native Americans across the country were 1.4 times higher than non-Hispanic whites and rates of heart disease were 1.2 times higher. HIV/AIDS rates were 30% higher, and rates of liver cancer and inflammatory bowel disease were two times higher. Diabetes-related death rates were four times higher. On average, life expectancy is four years shorter for Native Americans than the population as a whole.

Rural Indians fare even worse, as data from Sen. Baucus's home state show. According to IHS statistics, in Montana and Wyoming, Indians suffer diabetes at rates 20% higher, heart disease 12% higher, and lung cancer rates 67% higher than the average across all IHS regions in the country. A recent Harvard University study found that life expectancy on a reservation in neighboring South Dakota was 58 years. The national average is 77.

http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB1 ... DkyWj.html

Interesting angle, I didn't know about the IHS. The article leaves out a key comparison, however: How do these rates compare to other poor Americans who receive government-funded care, i.e. Medicaid? Low income folks are more likely to be malnourished, abuse alcohol and drugs and do all sorts of stuff which can impact their health data.

Mike I love you but you really should do some research on Native American Indians, this article is pure yellow journalism. Free Gov't Healthcare has NOTHING to do with their mortality rate or poor health. Native Americans as sad as it is are the lowest minorities in the national who live in VERY poor conditions, most their own doing due to their beleif they should be able to run their Reservations on their own terms.

They're education system is very poor, they have very little career or job opportunity where their Reservations are located, their own leadership does little help and in most cases are even more corrupt then many state Gov'ts, and frankly their plight is not a concern of most Americans.

When I was in college I spent four summers out west and a good part of that was with Native Americans. I can tell you if they didn't have Gov't Healthcare their situation would be far worse.

I'm not saying I'm for Gov't Health care but I can tell you this article is totally false.