Navajo Nation to Vote on Health Ballot Measure in Special Election
Navajo Nation voters will decide in a June 19 special election whether it will administer its own medical services or continue to rely on "federally controlled" facilities, the AP/Arizona Daily Star reports. Indian Health Service, part of HHS, used to be the primary care provider for many of the nation's 558 federally recognized Indian tribes, but about 60% of the nation's tribes have taken over management of their own health care facilities or are considering it. According to the AP/Star, a "yes" vote on the Navajo Nation ballot initiative indicates support for adding a statute to the tribe's code that would prohibit it from future contracts with the Navajo Area Indian Health Service -- part of the national Indian Health Service -- and set the "stage for a management takeover by next year." A "no" vote would allow IHS, which has run medical services on the reservation since the 1950s, to continue to serve 240,000 tribal members. If the referendum passes, the tribe intends to manage seven health centers, six hospitals and 15 health stations beginning Jan. 1. Proponents of the resolution said it would reduce patients' waiting and travel time. However, others question whether the referendum would make Navajos "vulnerable" to losing future federal funding.
'Confusing' Measure?
Further, election officials worry that the tribe's 87,158 eligible voters may not understand the ballot measure, which includes language that could "baffle voters" and "lead to the results being legally challenged." Thomas Morris, president of the Navajo Medicine Men's Association, said, "People don't understand [the referendum]. People might vote yes when they mean no." Morris also called the referendum a "waste of money," pointing out that the Navajo Nation Council voted in January to begin negotiations on a five-year, $443 million per year proposal to "take over" the services IHS provides. However, the plan, approved by the council a 47-31 vote, "immediately ran into opposition" from some tribal delegates, who "insisted" that voters should "settle" the issue. The 27,000-square mile Navajo reservation, which has 110 chapters, extends from Northern Arizona into parts of New Mexico and Utah (Berry, AP/Arizona Daily Star, 5/18).
