"We're probably preaching to the choir when we urge Montana's congressional delegation to resist the president's proposed cuts in the Urban Indian Health Program.

After all, Sens. Max Baucus and Conrad Burns both said in no uncertain terms last week that they'd fight to keep the state's five off-reservation clinics open.

The Great Falls Indian Family Health Clinic in Great Falls is one of the five. It provides a culturally sensitive setting for treating about 1,270 patients a year, including the area's many Little Shell Chippewa people.

The clinic would almost certainly have to close if Congress passes the Bush budget's cut of $33 million for off-reservation clinics nationwide.

The Great Falls clinic's share of that is $421,000, and that amount leverages grants that cover most of the rest of the clinic's $862,000 budget."

Get the Story:
Editorial: Indian clinics' value goes beyond numbers (The Great Falls Tribune 2/21)

FY2007 HHS Budget in Brief:
HTML | PDF

Relevant Links:
National Council of Urban Indian Health - http://www.ncuih.org
Indian Health Service - http://www.ihs.gov

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