Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Comparative Study
. 2004 Jan;94(1):53-9.
doi: 10.2105/ajph.94.1.53.

Health service access, use, and insurance coverage among American Indians/Alaska Natives and Whites: what role does the Indian Health Service play?

Stephen Zuckerman  1 , Jennifer Haley, Yvette Roubideaux, Marsha Lillie-Blanton
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Health service access, use, and insurance coverage among American Indians/Alaska Natives and Whites: what role does the Indian Health Service play?

Stephen Zuckerman et al. Am J Public Health. 2004 Jan.

Abstract

Objectives: We compared access and utilization of health services among American Indians/Alaska Natives (AIANs) with that among non-Hispanic Whites.

Methods: We used data from the 1997 and 1999 National Survey of America's Families to estimate odds ratios for several measures of access and utilization and the effects of Indian Health Service (IHS) coverage.

Results: AIANs had less insurance coverage and worse access and utilization than Whites. Over half of low-income uninsured AIANs did not have access to the IHS. However, among the low-income population, AIANs with only IHS access fared better than uninsured AIANs and as well as insured Whites for key measures but received less preventive care.

Conclusions: The IHS partially offsets lack of insurance for some uninsured AIANs, but important needs were potentially unmet.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

FIGURE 1—
FIGURE 1—
Sources of Coverage and Care, by Income, Whites and American Indians/Alaska Natives, 1997 and 1999. Note. FPL = federal poverty level; AIANs = American Indians/Alaska Natives; IHS = Indian Health Service. a “IHS only” includes American Indians/Alaska Natives who are uninsured and indicated that the Indian Health Service (IHS) was their only source of coverage.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

References

    1. Indian Health Service. Trends in Indian Health: 1998–99. Rockville, Md: US Department of Health and Human Services, Indian Health Service; 1999.
    1. Grossman DC, Baldwin LM, Casey S, Nixon B, Hollow W, Hart LG. Disparities in infant health among American Indians and Alaska Natives in US metropolitan areas. Pediatrics. 2002;109:627–633. - PubMed
    1. Keppel KG, Pearcy HN, Wagener DK. Trends in racial and ethnic-specific rates for the health status indicators: United States, 1990–98. Healthy People 2000 Stat Notes. 2002;23:1–16. - PubMed
    1. Dixon M, Roubideaux Y. Introduction. In: Dixon M, Roubideaux Y, eds. Promises to Keep: Public Health Policy for American Indians and Alaska Natives in the 21st Century. Washington, DC: American Public Health Association; 2001:xix–xxi.
    1. Dixon M. Access to care for American Indians and Alaska Natives. In: Dixon M, Roubideaux Y, eds. Promises to Keep: Public Health Policy for American Indians and Alaska Natives in the 21st Century. Washington, DC: American Public Health Association; 2001:61–87.

Publication types

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources