Governor Bill AnoatubbyOur common goal of exceptional health care
By Bill Anoatubby, Governor, Chickasaw Nation
It has been written that if you have have good health, you possess the greatest blessing God can bestow.
When we experience ill health, we want to quickly get back to our "old selves." We want to go on living, working, loving our families and enjoying full lives.
When we determined it was time to begin the planning for our new Chickasaw Nation health care facility in Ada, it quickly became apparent we were on the right track. Quality health care is a top priority for all Chickasaw people, and we saw that we could take major steps forward . Our challenge as your tribal government was how to provide the very best Indian health care in the country while wrestling with the sometimes stark realities of our American system of health care.
Operating a health care system is a daunting task. Good health care requires expensive technology, efficient systems and, above all, highly trained and committed health care professionals. We are fortunate our Chickasaw Nation Health System benefits from each of these vital components. Since the Chickasaw Nation, in 1994, assumed authority for Indian health care in the service unit surrounding Ada, we have seen health care improve for Chickasaw and other Indian people.
Of course, the health care CNHS provides comes with a big price tag. The rising cost of health care in our country is relentless and has a number of causes.
Medical advances are coming on-line at an ever-faster pace. Medical professionals - physicians, nurses, technicians, administrators - are expected to keep up with continuing education and advanced training. Supplies, services and general expenses rise annually at many times the rate of inflation.
There is also the additional squeeze of third-party reimbursements. As health care costs escalate, insurance companies and government insurers like Medicare and Medicaid are working hard to rein in their reimbursements to health care providers.
Despite all the challenges, we have long realized that providing top quality health care to Chickasaws is something to which we will always be fully committed.
We have committed to building the new, state-of-the-art health care facility in Ada. This 370,000 square-foot center will be one of the very finest health care facilities in the country. As such, it will be expensive. We project the total cost of the facility to be about $150 million.
While our tribe has obviously prospered through its own commercial endeavors, it is our job to continue to seek additional funding for the essential programs and services on which Chickasaws depend. You probably know that CNHS administers approximately $50 million annually in IHS funding for health care services, and the Chickasaw Nation contributes another approximately $10 million annually principally for Chickasaw-specific health programs.
These are sizable expenditures but, as we have discovered, providing quality health care to a large population is a seriously expensive procedure.
It is a tremendous plus that our team of tribal health care planners has succeeded in securing a very significant funding mechanism called the Joint Venture Construction Program Award. This award will provide millions of dollars in additional federal staffing and operational funding to CNHS for decades to come. The program represents a cooperative effort between the Chickasaw Nation and the IHS, with IHS delivering the enhanced funding as support for the tribeÕs commitment to the new Chickasaw Nation health care facility.
The key to successful Indian health care is two-fold: the care provided our patients must be of the highest quality, and, pragmatic and successful searches for additional funding must occur in order to meet the rising costs of excellent health care.
Our new health care facility is scheduled for opening in 2010, and our contractor is right on schedule. Our vision for our health care future means Chickasaws enjoying good health, productive lives and years of family happiness.
