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Inside This Issue
1 The Power of Diversity and Importance of Heritage
2 Bizarre Laws That Are STILL on the Books!
Should You File a Claim or a Lawsuit?
3 Know the Dangers of Fatigued Truck Drivers
Perfect Peach Cobbler
4 The Supreme Court Ruling for the Apache
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Becerra v. San Carlos Apache Tribe
Supreme Court Upholds Tribe Rights
SUPREME COURT ARGUMENT Justice Roberts delivered the majority’s opinion. He explained that tribes must collect income from third parties when they decide to run their own health care programs and that the associated costs they incurred were eligible for repayment because they resulted from the tribes’ contract with the IHS. The minority opinion, written by Justice Brett Kavanaugh, argued that the reimbursement would cost more and necessitate reallocating spending or an increase in taxation. THE TAKEAWAY This ruling allows tribes to effectively exercise greater self-determination without being penalized for the cost of administering their own health care program in conjunction with the IHS. It is a victory for tribes that run their own programs, but it does come at the expense of the federal government and possibly American taxpayers.
The U.S. Supreme Court has a lot of responsibility. Its decisions have ramifications on American jurisprudence and society as a whole. A June 2024 decision by the Supreme Court helps Native American tribes administer their own health programs, but some say the expenses outweigh the benefits. In the case of Becerra, Secretary of Health and Human Services, et al. v. San Carlos Apache Tribe , which was consolidated with Becerra v. Northern Arapaho Tribe , the Supreme Court ruled 5–4 in favor of the tribe. The tribe brought the lawsuit against the Indian Health Services (IHS) because they believed the IHS should assist with insurance payment collection. The ruling will result in the federal government paying more for the administrative costs incurred by Native American tribes operating their own health care programs.
THE HOLDING The Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act, which went into effect in 1975, allows Native American tribes to contract with IHS to run their health care programs. The Supreme Court holds that the Act requires IHS to pay contract support costs tribes incur when collecting and spending program income from Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurance companies.
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