Indian Health Service Spent $4,078 per Person in 2017, Compared With $13,185 for Medicare and $10,692 for the VA
The Fact
The U.S. Government Accountability Office compared per-person spending across four federal health programs in 2017: Indian Health Service $4,078; Medicaid $8,109; Veterans Health Administration $10,692; Medicare $13,185. The IHS figure is based on its 3-year user population of about 1.6 million people; counting only people seen in one year, it rises to $5,173.
What This Means
Even on IHS's most generous count, a Native patient's care gets well under half of what Medicare or the VA spends on a person. On the standard count, it's about 31 cents for every Medicare dollar.
Why It Matters
The federal government owes health care to tribal members under treaties and federal law. It pays for that promise at a fraction of what it pays for anyone else's care.
Key Terms
Per capita: Per person — the total divided by the number of people.
Sources
U.S. Government Accountability Office. Indian Health Service: Spending Levels and Characteristics of IHS and Three Other Federal Health Care Programs (GAO-19-74R), December 2018. https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-19-74r
(Cents-per-dollar comparison calculated by The Broadside.)