A last-minute change to the Trump Administration’s Big, Beautiful Bill may exempt American Natives from work requirements for Medicaid and SNAP benefits. Congressional leaders added the exemption because many tribal communities lack economic opportunities, especially on reservations.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate among American Indians and Alaska Natives is 8.3 percent, roughly double the national average.
A.C. Locklear, the C.E.O. of the National Indian Health Board, says 80 percent of Tribal communities rely on these programs.
“The federal government agreed in treaties to provide for the health and well being of our people. And most people think that’s through Indian Health, but Indian Health is only funded at $8 billion and the need is upwards to $50 billion to $60 billion dollars. And our reliance on these programs are the federal government's bandaid to not providing full funding for Indian health.”
Some estimates predict that as many as 100,000 Nevadans could lose access to Medicaid if work requirements in the president’s tax deal are signed into law.
