Publication Date: September 4th, 2025
Publication Type: Policy Brief
Topic(s): American Indians and Alaska Natives, Healthcare Access, Rural Statistics and Demographics, Social Determinants of Health
Author(s): Jacobson I, Interrante JD, Baker HA, Tuttle MS, and Kozhimannil KB
Rural residents and American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) people both experience challenges in health care access. The Indian Health Service, a federally operated health system intended to fulfill the trust responsibility of the United States to Native nations, is a source of health care for approximately 2.8 million AI/ AN people; just under 30% of the 9.7 million AI/AN people alive today. The purpose of this policy brief is to show reported reasons for experiencing delayed or forgone health care and how this differs between rural AI/AN and rural non-Hispanic white people as well as by Indian Health Service (IHS) care access among rural AI/AN people.