(@RossKUrken)
PARCHED: The Navajo Nation is a sovereign state, but residents are dependent on Indian Health Services, which is funded by the U.S. government.
WALLY SKALIJ/LOS ANGELES TIMES/GETTY
THERE’S A cruel joke often told in Indian country: “Don’t get sick after June.” The sick truth beneath those words is that by summertime the Indian Health Service—tasked with providing basic health care to the nation’s 2 million Native Americans and Alaska Natives—has typically blown its meager fiscal year budget. Perhaps even more dangerous to the health of natives across the United States: The IHS does not provide coverage for preventive services. Without those types of checkups—the mammograms, colonoscopies and other services that are mandated by the Affordable Care Act—cancers often don’t get found until it’s too late.