Native America Calling: Residents brace for Medicaid and food assistance cuts

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Native America Calling

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Native America Calling: Residents brace for Medicaid and food assistance cuts

Tuesday, July 8, 2025

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Residents brace for Medicaid and food assistance cuts

The Congressional Budget Office estimates the spending bill just signed by President Donald Trump will increase the number of people without health insurance by 16 million over the next ten years.

The $1.1 trillion cuts to Medicaid will also affect Native Americans who rely on it to pay for health care through the Indian Health Service and threatens rural hospitals with a high rate of Medicaid-dependent patients. The new spending plan also substantially reduces the number of people who will collect food assistance through the federal government.

Tune in to get insights on what these numbers mean for Native Americans who disproportionately rely on these two federal government programs.

Also, find out about the significance of the new Indigenous head of Mexico’s Supreme Court. Hugo Aguilar Ortiz (Mixtec) took office on June 1 following judicial elections in Mexico.

The Fort Belknap Hospital is an Indian Health Service facility on the Fort Belknap Reservation in Montana. Photo by Sgt. 1st Class Corey Beal / 88th Readiness Division

Guests on Native America Calling

A.C. Locklear (Lumbee), CEO of National Indian Health Board

Aaron Payment (Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians), tribal councilman and former chairperson for the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians

Kelli Case (Chickasaw), senior staff attorney for the Indigenous Food and Agriculture Initiative

Gaspar Rivera-Salgado (Mixteco), director for the UCLA Center for Mexican Studies

Hermanos y hermanas, les saludo con afecto, gracias por hacer historia el pasado 1 de junio. Su participación trasciende la vida de México y la vida de los pueblos indígenas y afromexicanos.

Otro México es posible. pic.twitter.com/xqfzZyJGUb
— Hugo Aguilar Ortiz (@HugoAguilarOrti) June 8, 2025