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With more than 300 investigations into thousands of claims of medical malpractice, Native Americans continue to suffer as tribal members continue to die due to a lack of U.S. government funding for Medicare.
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Gerald Roy, from the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, stated that the Office of Inspector General has opened investigations related to malpractice and mismanagement; employee misconduct including conspiracy, health care fraud and embezzlement; drug diversion such as substance abuse and trafficking.
Understaffing, lack of funds, outdated equipment, and misdiagnoses are only a few of the concerns surrounding the government contracted Medicare agency — the Indian Health Service — which is responsible for serving around 2.2 million Native Americans with medical care.
The Sioux Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota is reportedly one of the least attended of more than 500 national reservations with only a 45-bed capacity and over 21,000 residents in the area.
Sanitation violations grew to such heights that reservation members were forced to shut down the IHS emergency room in 2015, which forced tribal members to travel about 50 miles outside of town to find medical assistance.
The Congressional Budget Office reported an estimated US$834 billion cut to Medicaid in the American Health Care Act of 2017, which narrowly passed the House in May. Additionally, in his 2018 fiscal year budget request, President Donald Trump requested a cut of US$300 million to the IHS.
This, along with pending changes to the Affordable Care Act, will only exacerbate the existing medical crisis in Indigenous communities.
Among Native American communities, there is a common warning: “Don’t get sick after June — that’s when the federal money runs out.”
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Adea Romero- Briones, associate director of Research and Policy for Native Agriculture for the First Nations, told VOA reporters in an interview about her grandfather who arrived for a cataract operation only to be turned away with only one eye completed due to lack of government funds.
Another man, residing on the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation, waited two hours for an ambulance to arrive after reportedly being stabbed in the neck. He eventually resorted to paying his neighbor to take him to the emergency care center.
In South Dakota, a highschool student arrived at the hospital coughing up blood. The floor physician administered cough syrup and anti-anxiety medication; the girl died days later of a blood clot in her lungs.
A similar case transpired with a 57-year-old patient who returned home after a physical reported bronchitis symptoms, only to die five hours later of a cardiac arrest.
In 2016, the Department of Health and Human Services reported sewage leaking into the operating room from corroded pipes in one IHS hospital.
The Indian Health Care Improvement Act of 1976 authorized the IHS to bill Medicare and Medicaid for services to qualifying beneficiaries to support Native American people throughout the U.S. territory.
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