Shift of Care from IHS Facilities To Tribal Clinics Has Some in Albuquerque Area Concerned About Access

A shift in the distribution of health care for Native Americans in Albuquerque, N.M., from facilities funded by the federal Indian Health Service to clinics managed by tribes themselves has touched off a debate over the availability of health services, the New Mexico Business Weekly reports. IHS, historically the largest care provider for Native Americans in the area, has reduced its funding for agency-run facilities in the area by about $3.5 million since 2000. That funding has been redistributed to reservations running their own clinics, according to Cheri Lyon, CEO of the Albuquerque Service Unit of IHS. Still, some in the Native American community say the reduction in IHS funding could cause a "health care crisis" because thousands of people rely on IHS services, some of which have been reduced or eliminated because of the funding redistribution, Business Weekly reports. Dave Cade, executive director of the Albuquerque Indian Center, which provides community services but not health care, said there has been little communication between the IHS and the organizations that have assumed control of the health care services. For example, several Native Americans have been seeking out care services at the center when such services are unavailable at IHS facilities, the Business Weekly reports. Cade said, "When programs disappear we are needing to know how that gap will be filled" (Billingsley, New Mexico Business Weekly, 6/28).