United States Should Take Close Look at Native American Health System, Editorial States
"Third World life expectancies" and "[s]ky-high rates of alcoholism," diabetes and tuberculosis, as well as "snake-low" federal spending on health care, have continued the "legacy of broken promises" made to Native Americans by the federal government, an Arizona Republic editorial says, responding to a recent report on Native American health care. The Republic maintains that the federal government has the "legal obligation to take care of" Native Americans through "increased funding, more efficient delivery of services and assistance to tribes that want to run their own [health] systems." The editorial urges "hard-headed" and "steely-eyed determination" to evaluate the current care delivery system, concluding, "The nation as a whole needs to work on this issue" (Arizona Republic, 4/18).
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