Latest News On Indigenous Health

Latest California Healthline Stories

Tribal Groups Assert Sovereignty as Feds Crack Down on Gender-Affirming Care

Native American groups declare that tribal sovereignty trumps state and federal efforts to restrict or ban gender-affirming care for two-spirit and LGBTQ+ tribal citizens. Tribes are analyzing the risk of opposing Trump’s policies, advocates say.

Language Service Cutbacks Raise Fear of Medical Errors, Misdiagnoses, Deaths

Federal cuts are hurting community organizations in California that provide language assistance services to people who speak limited English. Despite President Trump’s executive order declaring English the national language, millions in the U.S. need help navigating the health system.

Federal Cuts Gut Food Banks as They Face Record Demand

Food banks nationwide are being pinched by record demand, high food prices, and hundreds of millions of dollars in federal budget cuts. As the economy plods onto shaky ground, food bank leaders hope Congress patches the holes by passing a new farm bill.

Tribal Health Leaders Say Medicaid Cuts Would Decimate Health Programs

As Congress mulls significant cuts to Medicaid, Native American tribes are bracing for potentially devastating financial fallout. That’s because Medicaid is the largest third-party payer for Native American health programs, funding that has helped address chronic underfunding of the Indian Health Service.

Amid Plummeting Diversity at Medical Schools, a Warning of DEI Crackdown’s ‘Chilling Effect’

Enrollment of underrepresented groups at medical schools fell precipitously this academic year after the Supreme Court’s 2023 ban on affirmative action. Education and health experts worry the Trump administration’s anti-DEI measures will only worsen the situation, even in states like California that have navigated bans on race-conscious admissions for years.

A Program To Close Insurance Gaps for Native Americans Has Gone Largely Unused

Health leaders say a tool to boost medical coverage for Native Americans, a population that has long faced worse health outcomes than the rest of the nation, has been underused by many states and tribes since it was written into the Affordable Care Act more than a decade ago.