ashington — The Supreme Court sided with Native American tribes Thursday in a dispute with the federal government over the cost of health care when tribes run programs in their own communities.
The Department of Health and Human Services had argued it isn't responsible for the overhead costs associated with billing insurance companies, Medicare and Medicaid. The federal Indian Health Service has provided tribal health care since the 1800s under treaty obligations, but the facilities are often inadequate and understaffed, the San Carlos Apache Tribe in Arizona said in court documents.
The tribes contracted with IHS to run their own programs ranging from emergency services to substance-abuse treatment. The agency paid the tribes the money it would have spent to run those services, but the contract didn't include the overhead costs for billing insurance companies or Medicare and Medicaid, since other agencies handle it when the government is running the program.
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