Since its founding in the 1950s, the Indian Health Service has provided medical care for many Native Americans. But the service has been chronically underfunded, so often pays for care only if someone is in immediate danger of losing life or limb. In recent years, the Affordable Care Act created new health coverage opportunities for more than half a million Native Americans and Alaska Natives — and created jobs in Indian country, too.
The Blackfeet Community Hospital in Browning, Mont., is one example of this trend. It’s the only hospital on the Blackfeet reservation, and traditionally got most of its funds from the Indian Health Service
