The Plight of the Indian Health Service

The AP ran an interesting article (if not editorial) this morning on the current state of the Indian Health Service. Citing the story of young Ta'shon Rain Little Light from Crow Agency, MT, the story outlined the general plight of the Indian Health Service.

In brief the problems boil down to poor quality of service, lack of resources, long-waiting periods, and lack of funding. The young girl ultimately lost a battle with terminal cancer after she was misdiagnosed by the IHS five times.

"Maybe it would have been treatable," says her great-aunt, Ada White, as she stoically recounts the last few months of Ta'Shon's short life. Stephanie Little Light cries as she recalls how she once forced her daughter to walk when she was in pain because the doctors told her it was all in the little girl's head.

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The story strikes me as an astounding argument against the nationalized health care plan the Obama Administration hopes to enact. Native Americans have long availed themselves of health care on the federal dime.  And in exchange for their patronage, Indian people have endured misdiagnoses, long waits, and the prolonged effects of poor health care - including diabetes and obesity.

In a touch of irony, the health care afforded Native Americans was supposed to be a type of fulfillment of the Federal Government's trust obligations toward the tribes. It is little wonder, then, that like most Federal programs, the IHS has been incompetently managed, producing vast inequalities in health care among Native communities across the country.

The problem of course, stems from the President's plan to introduce a government insurance plan that would compete with private insurers.  The move, would force insurance costs down, and provide an public alternative that would grow exponentially as private insurers are driven out of the market. The end result of the proposal would lead to a nationalization of the health care system - with Medicare covering the elderly, Medicaid for the poor, and Obamacare for the middle class.

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But if the lessons of Crow Agency are any indication, the middle class may be in for a ruse. The one lesson to be taken from the plight of the IHS is that government cannot manage the health care for 1.37% of the population while keeping costs down, and delivering quality service.  How, then, can government possibly manage the health care for the entire nation?