Regardless of your political stance, dental care is a service that all people should have access to, privately, or publicly. In the United States alone, millions of Native Americans on reservations are stifled from receiving the much needed dental care they require, the consequences are harmful to their health and prosperity. Tribal sovereignty is defined as the right for an independent tribal authority to govern its members. In regards to dental care, this is the right to train, license, and employ medical professionals. Currently, this system is not working. Native Americans and are faced with oral ailments at a alarmingly high rate compared to other ethnic or cultural groups, and have limited access to adequate dental care. Due to the lobbying of the American Dental Association, many tribes are restricted from accessing affordable dental health aides. Furthermore, the underfunding of the Indian Health Service, the lack of dentists available and the low population density of Native American tribes are intensifying the issue. Alaskan Tribal Members are a prime example of just how difficult it is to provide accessible dental care to Native Americans. In a study about improving the oral health of Alaskan Natives, published in PubMed Central of the National Center for Biotechnology Information, there was a quote that said “Disregarding the 3 largest population centers in Alaska [Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Juneau], the state has a population density of about 0.5 people per
The IHS, which is part of the Affordable Care Act, issues some health care benefits to assist Native Americans on reservations (“Health Coverage For”). But people fail to identify loopholes in the ACA that prevent Native Americans from gaining proper access health care. For example, health care provided by the IHS only applies to federally recognized tribes. Although there are 567 federally recognized tribes today, there are also 460 tribes that still lack government recognition (Olife). This means that those who are not federally recognized are ineligible for Medicare needs that could be available to them if they were government recognized. In addition to that, medicaid has not expanded to at least 20 states (Norris). So even if Native tribes are government recognized, medicaid is not available to those who live in those states. In other words, Natives will have to find other means for helping themselves until more states expand on Medicaid. But do medical emergencies have time to wait? So in the case of Native Americans on reservations, even if they are entitled to health insurance under the ACA, if they are not federally recognized or live in a state that accepts medicaid, Natives will be forced to support
The United States Federal government has a responsibility to provide services to American Indians and Alaska Native (AI/AN) persons. However, a long-standing history of underfunding of the Indian Health Service (IHS) has led to significant challenges in providing services. In contrast, the Indian Health Care Improvement Act (IHCIA) has affected the way health services are provided. The IHCIA was reauthorized as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) and several provisions in ACA has allow for potential improvements in access to services for the Native American population. However, it becomes problematic to articulate formal corporate-wide policies and procedures for Native Americans and health care. Understanding and managing
Hundreds of years ago, the dental profession and the medical profession was perceived as two separate entities, however, this bifurcated health system has created an epidemic in oral disease with our aging population (Nagro, 2016). Dentistry should be more closely integrated with medicine and the health care system, however, organized dentistry has fought to stay a monopoly. They have protested regarding dental personnel being independent, even in the advancement of serving more rural areas, just as they repelled being part of Medicare. Finally, there are a few states that have alternative choices for a dental hygienist to travel to people who can’t get to a traditional dental office. Some of these states include Minnesota, Colorado, Oregon,
Some may argue that Native Americans live a decent life with the aid that the United States has given them. Americans feel that the reservations that Native Americans are given is the proper way to respect their lands and culture, by allowing them to have a small portion of what was once all of their territory. According to USA.gov, there is the National Tribal Preservation Program to help tribes protect resources and traditions important to them. This provides Native American tribes with the assistance that they need to maintain their way of life and cultural ideals. Yet Blackfoot Indians have been forcibly migrated and partially integrated into society without any aid. The United States government has neglected the Blackfoot Indians by degrading their culture and subjecting them into bitter
Native reservations have some health issues because they don’t have access to clean running water. According to Becky Norton, “We have a very high rate of strep throat, bad colds and other illnesses that come with the poor sanitation and lack of access to clean water” (Risen). For Natives getting water is highly important to ensure them that themselves and kids are healthy and in good shape. Health problems are not the only issues Native Americans
Existing Policy: Native Americans and Alaska Natives (NA/AN) have a long-standing and complicated relationship with the United States Government. While the United States Constitution defines the relationship between the federal government and Indian Tribes in its commerce and treaty clauses, it wasn’t until 1831 in the Supreme Court case Cherokee Nation v. Georgia that established the tutelage relationship of the federal government and states towards Tribes.1 From this relationship various treaties have been implemented recognizing and guaranteeing the provision of medical services to Indian Tribes.1 The Snyder Act of 1921 (25 U.S.C 13) was the first U.S. law that allowed funding to be allocated to the health of Native Americans and Alaska
The provision of dental treatment in Australia is a topic that ignites a wide range of opinions and emotions among the various stakeholders involved. Much of dentistry in Australia is provided in the private setting, some estimates suggesting 83%1. Australians fund up to 60% of dental care via out of pocket payments1,2. Only a relatively small amount of dental care is provided in the public sector to patients who are often disadvantaged in regards to their oral health1. It is estimated that a large amount of the population is unable to access dental care due to finances; however the capacity of the public sector to provide dental care is limited. With limited funding and resources, the public sector is unable to provide dental care for all Australians and a large proportion of people are on long wait lists, some estimates of 650,0002.
One of the largest issues facing the American Indian's today is that health care. As tribes and urban Indian health centers struggle along with the rest of the country to address the growing numbers of Elders in their communities. There are key issues and special considerations that must be addressed to ensure American Indian Elders are not forgotten in any proposed reform or redesign proposals that the newly formed Medicaid Commission or Congress put forth. By 2030, it is estimated there will be 430,000 American Indian and Alaska Native Elders, constituting 12.2% of the American Indian population (Day, 1993). While the
Ever since Christopher Columbus first arrived in the Americas, Native Americans have been given no respect or equal rights. They were the first to live in the U.S., but have been forcefully and often brutally put into small reservations outside of normal civilization. Many Americans might not think of this as a big deal since this affects only a minimal part of the population. Little do many people know, in 2010 there were 5.2 million people in the United States who identified themselves as American Indian. (1) Twenty-two percent of whom, live on the government bounded reservations. While, most Native Americans that don’t live on the reservation are located very close by (1). The fact that they are subjected to such small plots of lands on its own is cruel, but now the government is digging up their sacred lands and farms to build a pipeline.
Oral health care is an integral part of the US healthcare system. In 2012, Sen. Bernie Sanders introduced “The Comprehensive Dental Reform Act”, which aimed on expanding dental coverage, accessible oral health care centers, increase in dental workforce, enhanced dental education and encourage dental research. (Congress.gov). The ACA, aim to curb the national health spending, by facilitating the affordability to quality care through private and public health insurance. The purpose of this bill is to cut the healthcare costs and to reverse the “silent epidemic” of dental health status (surgeon gen). This dental bill with an integrated approach towards the preventive and comprehensive oral healthcare is estimated to provide coverage to almost 17.7 million adults. (ADA
The history of the American Indians after the European invasion of the New World is not a pleasant topic. Everyone wants to believe the stories that are told about Squanto, the Pilgrims and the harmony of the first Thanksgiving and then skip the next three hundred years of oppression and racism. Unfortunately, the next three hundred years happened and by the 20th century most Indian tribes as well as their traditional ways of life, had been extinguished. Despite the widespread destruction of the American Indian, many still survive. In an attempt to provide some sort of compensation the federal government of the United States has a special health care system set up for American Indian descendants.
The authors have properly addressed the health disparities in this article. They started the article by telling the audience why Hispanic faces health disparities the most. First, due to the language barrier they have insufficient knowledge of oral health. Most the people who participated in this study were immigrants, Spanish. Only 2/3 of the people spoke and understood little to no English. Second, because of the poverty they have can’t afford dental health and avoid going to see the dentist. ¾ of the parents received an income of $2,000 or under per month. Third, many of the families did not have any type of dental insurance.
The Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma (CN) is one of the many Native American tribes that place a great emphasis on health care. There are noticeable efforts and investments in improving the health care system in the Cherokee Nation. Through the building of health care centers, launching health programs, and individually engaged tribal members in the health field, the Cherokee Nation is striving to improve the overall health care of their people.
Dental care coverage is much less dominant than medical care coverage in the United States. When compared between medical and dental coverage of adults over the age of 21, about 15 percent have no form of medical care coverage, but over 45 percent have no form of dental care coverage (Brown & Manski, 2004; Buchmueller, Miller, & Vujicic, 2014). Moreover, Americans over 65 continue to be the age group with
Families who are at a social, economic, or environmental disadvantage are groups who have greater obstacles to dental care. High-risk groups include children living in poverty, racial and ethnic minority communities, homelessness, and special needs children.