News and Information for the Native American Community
2/29/08
Urban AI/AN Population Faces Poverty, Barriers To Health Care
| This story is excerpted from an article published in US Medicine. |
A report released in November 2007 by the Urban Indian Health Commission illuminated concerns over rising health disparities in American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/AN) living in urban areas.
Entitled "Invisible Tribes: Urban Indians and Their Health in A Changing World," the report details how nearly 67 per cent of the country's 4.1 million self-identified AI/AN now live in
metropolitan areas and how many are poor with high rates of chronic ailments but lack the means to access health care.
Over the last 30 years, more than one million AI/AN have left reservations and moved to cities in search of better opportunities. While there are 34 urban Indian health organizations (UIHOs) across the country, they receive only one per cent of the Indian Health Service (IHS) budget. Yet these organizations served about 175,000 patients in their programs during 2007.
