Tribes Concerned About Medicaid Overhaul

Sidney Squier

Veritas New Mexico - Human Services Department (HSD) Cabinet Secretary Sidonie “Sidney” Squier got a skeptical reception at her meeting Wednesday with representatives from eight New Mexico Indian tribes, several of whom voiced concern that her agency’s Medicaid overhaul would create new barriers to American Indians’ access to health care. The tribes should have a substantive role in the Medicaid restructuring process, several tribal representatives said. State law requires HSD and other agencies to consult with the tribes before changing policies affecting their members. But Wednesday’s three-hour meeting at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center in Albuquerque — HSD’s only scheduled Medicaid consultation with the tribes — was held during a week of seasonal Pueblo ceremonies and on the same day as a state redistricting consultation with tribal officials. As a result, only eight of the state’s 22 tribes were officially represented at the meeting. Read full story here: News New Mexico