A Forum on the Implications of Changes in the Health Care Environment for Native American Health Care

With the assistance of the First Nations Development Institute, the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation commissioned several studies of critical issues in Native-American health care. These studies examined the trends shaping the future of Native-American health care; the existing health systems and planning capacity in the Native-American health care system; the changes occurring in the IHS; the role of Medicaid in Native-American health care; the attitudes and preferences of Native American health care consumers; and the factors shaping the decisions being made by tribal leaders. The findings from these studies were presented at a Kaiser Forum on the “Implications of Changes in the Health Care Environment for Native-American Health Care,” in Washington, D.C., November 1996. The studies and a synthesis of the Forum discussion are published in this report.