The decision focused on the issue of the costs tribes incur when billing private insurers, Medicare, and Medicaid. In a 5-4 decision, the Court ruled that under the Indian Self-Determination Act of 1975, the federal Indian Health Service (IHS), an agency within the Department of Health and Human Services, is required to cover these costs.
Morgan Sanders, an attorney for the Native American Rights Fund, a Colorado nonprofit legal group, said the ruling ensures that tribally administered health care programs operate on an equal footing with programs run by the IHS.
“Tribal nations are in the best position to decide what’s best for their communities,” she continued, “and this funding is necessary to fulfill the sovereignty tribes are exercising in selecting contracts to take over these programs.”
Sanders said the federal funding would help address some of the health care cost inequities in tribal communities across the country.
The Supreme Court’s decision is a victory for the Northern Arapaho Tribe of Wyoming and the San Carlos Apache Tribe of Arizona, which have faced millions of dollars in overhead in recent years and sued the government: the Northern Arapaho have spent $1.5 million on claims over two years, while the San Carlos Apache have spent about $3 million over three years.
The ruling could mean the federal government will have to pay between $800 million and $2 billion a year to all tribes that run their own health care programs, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.
This news is produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between Wyoming Public Media, Nevada Public Radio, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, KUNR in Nevada, KUNC in Colorado and KANW in New Mexico, with support from affiliates throughout the region. Mountain West News Bureau funding is provided in part by Public Broadcasting Corporation.
