[1]NNU - Medicare for All!



November is recognized as American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage
Month, a time for us to celebrate and honor Native American communities
and Indigenous people across the United States.

According to the U.S. Census, the number of people who identify as
American Indian or Alaska Native nearly doubled from 5.2 million in 2010
to 9.7 million in 2020.^1

Unfortunately, American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) people have long
experienced health disparities compared to the rest of the U.S.
population.

In a 2024 report, KFF found that AI/AN people have an average life
expectancy at birth that is almost ten years less than that of white
people (67.9 years vs 77.5 years).^2 In addition, AI/AN patients
experienced double the infant mortality rate of white patients (9.1 vs 4.5
deaths per 1,000 live births) in 2022, and were more than three times as
likely as white people to experience a pregnancy-related death (63.4 vs.
18.1 deaths per 100,000 live births) in 2020.^3

[ [link removed] ]KFF: Pregnancy-Related Mortality per 100,000 Births by Race and
Ethnicity, 2020

Another report from KFF reveals that AI/AN people were more likely to live
below the poverty line and experience barriers to receiving health care
than white people. Though health coverage has improved over the years,
AI/AN people saw a 21% uninsured rate compared to only 7% for white people
in 2022.^4 The AI/AN community also experienced higher rates of diabetes,
asthma, and COVID-19 deaths than other demographics.

[ [link removed] ]KFF: Health and Healthcare for Indigenous People

Our current, profit-driven health care system fails far too many in our
country, with Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC), and
low-income and rural communities disproportionately affected. That’s why
we must continue to fight for Medicare for All.

Additionally, we support dramatically increasing funding for the education
of future health care and public health professionals — in particular for
Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) communities — and
Indigenous stewardship as a key means of stopping infectious disease
outbreaks and protecting the ecosystems that are vital to the health and
survival of us all.

We stand in solidarity with movements for Indigenous sovereignty,
reparations, and justice, and demand the equitable application of
services, health care resources, and infrastructure to improve the
standard of living for Native peoples across the country.

Together, we will continue to build our inclusive movement to achieve
health care justice for all — including Indigenous justice.

In solidarity,

Nurses’ Campaign to Win Medicare for All

PS — This month is also for celebrating the countless contributions that
AI/AN people have made throughout history, including Betty Mae Tiger
Jumper, a nurse and the only woman to be elected chief of the Seminole
Tribe of Florida. [ [link removed] ]Watch our video to learn more about her inspiring
story →

 

1 - [ [link removed] ]Facts for Features: American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage
Month: November 2024
2 - [ [link removed] ]Race, Inequality, and Health
3 - [ [link removed] ]Racial Disparities in Maternal and Infant Health: Current Status
and Efforts to Address Them
4 - [ [link removed] ]Health and Health Care for Indigenous People



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