1)              In 2007, American Indian/Alaska Natives were twice as likely to develop a case of Hepatitis C, as compared to the White population.

2)              In 2006, non-Hispanic Blacks were 70% more likely to die from viral hepatitis, as compared to non-Hispanic Whites.

3)               In 2007, Asian Americans were 1.6 times more likely to contract Hepatitis A, as compared to Whites.

4)              In 2002, African American children were 3.2 times more likely than White children to be diagnosed with acute viral Hepatitis B.

“Any specific effort to improve Native American health care will inevitably fall short of complete success unless certain principles and approaches are embraced.  First, the extent of current health disparities in the Native American community and their relationship to historical events must be acknowledged by the federal government.  Second, measurable long- and short-term goals designed to improve the health status and outcomes of Native Americans must be created and promptly implemented.  These goals must encompass fiscal, legal, structural, and policy changes.  Third, tribes must be provided expanded opportunities to control and manage the delivery of health care to Native Americans.  The tribal leaders and the Native American people are up to the task of raising the health status of their own people.  They desire control of their own destiny, yet they require congressional action to make their vision a reality.  They require congressional action so that finally our nation will honor the commitments made so long ago.”    Broken Promises: Evaluating the Native American Health Care System

"…the IHS has been characterized over the past decade as a ‘broken’ system. The truth is that the IHS system is not so much broken as it is ‘starved.’ The IHS has been grossly underfunded for decades and as such, cannot be expected to function optimally. Such inadequate funding has created the perception that the system is broken.
Despite these desperate statistics, the reauthorization of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act, the baseline authority for providing direct health care to American Indian and Alaska Natives, has not been reauthorized for ten years. The bill establishes objectives for addressing some of the basic and overwhelming health disparities confronting Indians as compared with other Americans and provides progressive approaches to health care delivery that will help move Indian health care into the 21st century. Passage of this much needed legislation is not only necessary to fulfill the Federal government’s responsibility of health care to Indian people; it must happen so that Indian people are placed on parity with the majority population and able to engage meaningfully in national health care reform." American Indian HealthCare System