National Council of Urban Indian Health Letter to Honorable Baucus, and Grassley of the Senate Committee on Finance regarding the Express Lane Agency enrollment September 23,2009
Authors: National Council of Urban Indian Health
Publication Year: 2009
Last Updated: 2010-08-25 11:10:45
Journal: NCUIH
Keywords: express lane agency, medicaid, health disparities, consultation
Short Abstract:
On behalf of the National Council of Urban Indian Health (NIHB) and the 36 urban Indian health clinics serving over 150,000 American Indians and Alaska Natives living in urban areas, I am writing to address Senator Grassley’s concern regarding the addition of Indian tribes, tribal organization, and urban Indian organizations to the definition of an Express Lane Agency.
Abstract:
On behalf of the National Council of Urban Indian Health (NIHB) and the 36 urban Indian health clinics serving over 150,000 American Indians and Alaska Natives living in urban areas, I am writing to address Senator Grassley’s concern regarding the addition of Indian tribes, tribal organization, and urban Indian organizations to the definition of an Express Lane Agency.
The fundamental goal of the Express Lane Agency language is to reduce barriers for enrollment into critical programs such as Medicaid for American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/ANs). AI/ANs suffer from disproportionately high poverty rates. Based on the 2000 Census, 25.7 percent of AI/ANs live in poverty in comparison with 12.4% of the general U.S. population. Additionally, in the recently released Census report on health insurance coverage, 31.7 percent of AI/ANs are reported to be uninsured based on a 3-year average (2006-2008). Despite this high rate of poverty and lack of insurance, AI/ANs are severely under-enrolled in Medicaid and CHIP. The consistent under-enrollment in Medicaid and CHIP has been a topic of frequent discussion in Tribal consultation, testimony to Congress, and policy debates. The reasons for this under-enrollment are numerous and Indian health care providers are uniquely situated to overcome these obstacles.
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