Administration Holds Up $40M Emergency Aid Funds for Native Americans, ‘Most Vulnerable Population’, Report Says
“This is not the place you want to skimp on resources if you want to hold the tide on this disease,'' Stacy Bohlen, the CEO of the National Indian Health Board, told Politico. News on the spread among tribes is also on complaints about a lack of readiness at IHS clinics.
Politico:
Exclusive: Emergency Coronavirus Funds For American Indian Health Stalled
The Trump administration has held up $40 million in emergency aid Congress approved earlier this month to help American Indians combat the coronavirus — a delay that’s left tribal leaders across the nation frustrated and ill-equipped to respond to the fast-growing outbreak. The funding has languished in bureaucratic limbo for weeks, despite increasingly urgent pleas from tribal organizations desperate to stockpile essential supplies and keep health clinics operational. Federally run American Indian health facilities are well short on hospital beds and ventilators, some frontline clinics received fewer than a dozen coronavirus tests, and federal officials have already signaled there will be little in the way of reinforcements — telling tribal leaders that all they can send right now are expired respirators. (Cancryn, 3/20)
Arizona Republic:
Arizona Congressional Delegation Pleas For Indian Health Services Aid
Four Arizona House Democrats pressed the Trump administration Friday to urgently provide $120 million in emergency aid to the Indian Health Service after delays in sending money to combat the new coronavirus that is sweeping across tribal communities. Reps. Ruben Gallego, Raúl Grijalva, Tom O'Halleran and Greg Stanton wrote a letter to Alex Azar, the Health and Human Services secretary, arguing that Native Americans have higher incidence of the kind of conditions that make the outbreak more severe. (Hansen, 3/20)
The Wall Street Journal:
Coronavirus Hits Native American Groups Already Struggling With Poor Health Care
The new coronavirus has found its way to Chilchinbeto, Ariz., a remote Navajo hamlet of about 500 in the high desert, a sign of the startling reach of infections in the U.S., and a worrisome harbinger for all Native American communities. As tribal leaders around the country gear up for the pandemic’s arrival, they worry the federal agencies that are supposed to help protect them aren’t ready. The federal Indian Health Service is already facing major shortages, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is expected to leave out some of the most vulnerable tribes when it announces new grants on Monday, according to tribal leaders and government documents. (Frosch and Weaver, 3/22)
