Senate OKs Indian health plan
U.S. Senate OKs Indian health plan
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By Chris Casteel
Published: February 27, 2008
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate overwhelmingly passed a bill Tuesday to improve Indian health care, though even the supporters conceded that true progress would require substantially more money.
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Oklahoma senators vote no
•Sen. Tom Coburn
The Muskogee Republican, a physician, tried unsuccessfully to amend the bill to give Indians insurance policies that would allow them to seek care outside the Indian Health Service system.
He said the change would make the IHS more competitive and prevent Indians from having their care rationed.
Coburn also complained that the new legislation adds more burdens on a system that is already overwhelmed and underfunded.
"It's kind of like taking a loan out on a brand new car when you can't provide food for your family,” Coburn said in debate two weeks ago on the bill.
•Sen. Jim Inhofe
The Tulsa Republican said the bill wouldn't correct the "structural flaws” in the system.
"Tribal members would be better served by a competitive, consumer-driven health care market that provides an array of choices and opportunities to make individualized health care decisions,” Inhofe said.
But competitive options are extremely limited for tribal members in remote areas, where physicians and nurses are in short supply. And Indians experience unusually high rates of some diseases, including diabetes.
Suicide and alcoholism also are chronic problems on reservations.
Related Topics:
U.S. Government, Special Interest Groups, U.S. Congressional News, Native American Issues

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