{"id":70707,"date":"2024-12-16T11:59:54","date_gmt":"2024-12-16T16:59:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/?p=70707"},"modified":"2024-12-16T12:00:02","modified_gmt":"2024-12-16T17:00:02","slug":"cronkite-news-program-expanded-to-cover-traditional-health-care-practices","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2024\/12\/16\/cronkite-news-program-expanded-to-cover-traditional-health-care-practices\/","title":{"rendered":"Cronkite News: Program expanded to cover traditional health care practices"},"content":{"rendered":" \"Wayne<\/a>
Wayne Wilson stands in a hogan at the Native American Baha\u2019i Institute in Houck, Arizona, in 2022. He is holding eagle feathers that he uses in traditional healing ceremonies. Sweat lodging, music therapy and other traditional healing treatments could now be covered by Medicaid in four states, including Arizona. File photo by Laura Bargfeld \/ Cronkite News<\/figcaption>\r\n
Native American traditional healing practices now covered under Medicaid in 4 states, including Arizona<\/div>\r\n
Monday, December 16, 2024<\/div>\r\n
By Brianna Chappie<\/div>\r\n
Cronkite News<\/DIV>\r\n
cronkitenews.azpbs.org<\/A><\/DIV>\r\n

<\/P>\r\nPHOENIX, Arizona — Native Americans in Arizona and three other states could now see government health coverage for some traditional healing practices.

<\/P>\r\nOn October 16<\/a>, the Biden administration announced it had expanded both Medicaid coverage and the Children\u2019s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) in Arizona, California, New Mexico and Oregon to cover traditional Native American healing practices through demonstration amendments to section 1115 of the Social Security Act.

<\/P>\r\n\u201cTraditional health care practices have been a way of life in many communities. And they are extremely important for American Indian and Alaska Native populations,\u201d Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a news release. \u201cBut, too often, health insurance does not cover them. With Medicaid and CHIP\u2019s inclusion of traditional health care practices at certain IHS facilities, we are extending access to culturally appropriate, quality health care in Tribal communities.”

<\/P>\r\nIn Arizona<\/a>, traditional health-care practices received either through the Indian Health Service (IHS)<\/a> or facilities independently operated by tribal nations<\/a> are eligible for Medicaid and CHIP coverage.

<\/P>\r\nUnlike California, New Mexico and Oregon, Medicaid coverage for Native American healing practices in Arizona will also extend<\/a> to Urban Indian Organizations<\/a>, which are nonprofit organizations that provide health care and other services to Native Americans and Native Alaskans.

<\/P>\r\nMedicaid is government-run health insurance that offers low-cost or free coverage for low-income individuals in families in the U.S. CHIP works similarly<\/a> but offers coverage specifically for children who are in families that fall outside of Medicaid eligibility but are not insured through a family plan.

<\/P>\r\nCoverage for traditional healing practices will depend on the individual facility that a patient visits, but covered treatments could include sweat lodging and music therapy.

<\/P>\r\nThe Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System<\/a> had originally submitted a request to cover these services<\/a> in 2015 but that request was denied.

<\/P>\r\nThe Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released a policy framework<\/a> earlier this year for the four states that detailed how the amendments would ensure traditional healing practices are reimbursed at a 100% service match. Prior to the amendment, facilities that offered traditional healing practices were not reimbursed.

<\/P>\r\nArizona has long struggled to address health disparities for Native Americans in the state. The state has been plagued with fake rehab facilities that purposely targeted Native Americans<\/a>. Recruiters for these facilities would often go out to Native American tribal lands or wait outside of health-care facilities for Native Americans, where they would lure people to sober living facilities that were often unsafe, provided inadequate care and defrauded Medicaid by billing the state\u2019s American Indian Health Program for treatments that weren’t provided.

<\/P>\r\nLast year, Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes launched an investigation<\/a> in tandem with the FBI and various tribal authorities to bring charges against these facilities.

<\/P>\r\nNative Americans have also been disproportionately affected<\/a> by higher rates of diabetes, cardiovascular disease and obesity. Substance abuse problems and suicide are also higher in Native Americans than other ethnic groups in the United States.

<\/P>\r\nIn 2022, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health found that<\/a> suicide was among the leading causes of death for young non-Hispanic American Indians and Alaska Natives between the ages of 10 and 34.

<\/P>\r\nOngoing and historical trauma perpetuated by the United States government has contributed to many of the health disparities<\/a> faced by Native American communities.

<\/P>\r\nGenocide<\/a>, the forced relocation<\/a> of hundreds of thousands of Native Americans from their homelands onto reservations with poor living conditions, the near-eradication of a primary food source of buffalo and introduction of unhealthy food rations, along with assimilatory boarding schools<\/a> that ran until the 1970s, have left haunting generational trauma in many Native American families that have contributed to poor diets, substance abuse and physical and mental health problems found in these communities.

<\/P>\r\nFor decades, the federal government also barred many Native American communities<\/a> from being able to practice traditional medicine.

<\/P>\r\nTribal leaders say the move could decrease health gaps for Native Americans by incorporating sacred healing practices that have been used and trusted for generations.

<\/P>\r\n\u201cThis groundbreaking approval reflects the understanding that health is more than physical; it is spiritual, emotional, and deeply tied to our culture,\u201d Navajo President Buu Nygren<\/a> wrote in a recent post on the social media platform X<\/a>. The Navajo Nation is the largest Native American tribal nation in the United States, with a land base as large as West Virginia. \u201cTraditional healing \u2014 including ceremonies and treatments \u2014 will now be more accessible through hospitals, clinics, and tribal programs, providing holistic care for our people.\u201d

<\/P>\r\nMany traditional Native American healing practices have proven health benefits. Sweat lodges, for example, have been documented<\/a> as being helpful in ridding infections from the body, helping with pain relief and rheumatic diseases like arthritis, alleviating insomnia and promoting healthy skin.

<\/P>\r\nSweat lodges<\/a> hold spiritual significance with many Native American communities and can also help with detoxification<\/a> \u2013 a rehab treatment that could help mitigate substance abuse problems within Native American communities.

<\/P>\r\n\u201cBy strengthening access to traditional health care practices, these innovative state demonstrations can play a crucial role in reducing health disparities and improving health across tribal communities,\u201d CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure said in a news release<\/a>.

<\/P>\r\nPhoenix Indian Medical Center<\/a> (PIMC), IHS\u2019 largest Indigenous care facility<\/a> in the Phoenix metro area, provides direct health services to over 150,000 individuals.

<\/P>\r\nPIMC offers spiritual care services<\/a>, described on the website as \u201cperson-centered care provided to meet a suffering individual\u2019s needs in the present moment.\u201d

<\/P>\r\n\u201cPIMC is unique in that it is located in a major metropolitan area and serves a large patient population that is representative of more than 74% of the 574 federally recognized tribes,\u201d wrote PIMC CEO Deb Ward Lund in a statement to Cronkite News. \u201cThe Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) coverage of traditional health care practice will support the growth of PIMC\u2019s spiritual care program and we look forward to supporting the IHS in implementing this initiative across the agency.\u201d

<\/P>\r\nThe spiritual care coverage isn\u2019t permanent It\u2019s part of a pilot program that will be reviewed for the next several years and is set to expire on Sept. 30, 2027<\/a>, if not extended.

<\/P>\r\n\u201cAmerican Indian and Alaska Natives have been endowed by our ancestors a deep and priceless wealth of traditional healing knowledge,\u201d said IHS Director Roselyn Tso in a news release. Tso is an enrolled member<\/a> of the Navajo Nation and is from LeChee, Arizona.

<\/P>\r\n\u201cThese practices have sustained our people’s health for generations and continue to serve as a vital link between culture, science, and wellness in many of our communities,\u201d she said.

<\/P>\r\n\r\nFor more stories from Cronkite News, visit cronkitenews.azpbs.org<\/A>.<\/STRONG>\r\n

<\/P>\r\n

Note: This story originally appeared on Cronkite News<\/a>. It is published via a Creative Commons license<\/A>. Cronkite News is produced by the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication<\/A> at Arizona State University<\/A>.<\/EM>
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