At the Annual Tribal Health Conference in August in Billings, Montana, Indian Health Services (IHS) research analyst Cliff Wiggins said that American Indians and Alaska Natives who use IHS typically receive $1,500 less per year in health care services than those with "mainstream" health plans. When put into the context of 1.4 million tribal members, the overall disparity amounts to more than $2 billion. This issue, along with others pertaining to American Indian health, was the focus of the conference hosted by the Montana-Wyoming Tribal Leaders Council.
"The thing that in Indian Country we lack the most is resource dollars," tribal council health specialist Richard King said at the conference. Michael O’Grady, assistant secretary for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and keynote speaker at the conference, agreed that Congress had underfunded the IHS. O'Grady explained that his agency is working to promote preventative health care in order to alleviate program deficiencies.
