U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla. (AP photo)

“Don’t get sick after June,” it says, repeating the mantra that stems from the way IHS facilities tend to run out of money around June each year. Why? Well, because the IHS is funded at only about 50 percent of what it needs to truly serve its people.

But does the piece talk about that underfunding? Only in a quick aside, although it goes on at length about IHS mismanagement, and asserts:

IHS is a shameful example of how patients suffer when their care is relegated to a government bureaucracy that rations care. IHS, in fact, characterizes the service it provides as a “rationed health care system.” As many in Congress continue to push for a public option run by the government, Americans should familiarize themselves with the tragic story of IHS.

This particular tack makes sense when you realize the piece is written by Republican Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, who like his fellow Republicans is adamantly opposed to anything resembling a public option being included in the health care reform proposals.

Coburn’s bonafides as a physician and member of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee gives weight to his words. And, yes, the mismanagement within the IHS is shameful. But so is the fact that, year after year, members of Congress fail to give Indian people the money they need for the health care the government is supposed to provide them. Coburn doesn’t say anything about that.

We’re curious about people’s reactions to Coburn’s piece. Click on that Reply button and have your say!

Gwen Florio

Tags: buffalo post, Health care reform, Indian Health Service, Native American news, U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn