The American Medical Association (AMA) House of Delegates adopted new policies aimed at reducing health disparities and improving health outcomes for Native Americans and Alaska Natives during its recent Annual Meeting.
“These policies emphasize the unique health challenges facing Native Tribes and how the government can respond,” said Ilse R. Levin, D.O., MPH & TM, an AMA Board of Trustees member. “The AMA has long supported efforts to bring American Indian and Alaska Native health up to the general population level.”
The adopted policies focus on expanding education opportunities through partnerships between the Indian Health Service (IHS) and accredited medical schools, establishing dedicated graduate medical education funding and programs in Tribal communities, and increasing physician training sites to reduce shortages in underserved populations.
The AMA also supports extending eligibility for Agriculture Department nutrition programs to enrolled members of federally recognized Tribes and Villages to address food insecurity, offering health information in indigenous languages to reduce disparities among American Indian and Alaska Native elders, and continuing federal support for alternative pathways to access health care outside the IHS.
Additionally, the AMA encourages collaborative research efforts between the IHS and the CDC to better understand limitations in IHS health care, including access barriers, treatment outcome disparities, and areas for improvement among Native populations.
“AMA adopts policies to promote Native American health” (June 12, 2024)
