President Bush's proposal to eliminate the $33 million urban Indian health care program will affect 6,500 Native Americans in Montana, The Great Falls Tribune reports.

More than half of the Native population in the state lives off-reservation. Many receive care at urban clinics in Great Falls, Missoula, Helena, Billings and Butte.

The elimination of the program could mean a reduction in services or something even worse. "It would be a tremendous loss if we close," Thomas Champagne, the executive director of the Great Falls Indian Family Clinic, told The Tribune.

If the cut goes through, the clinic would lose $421,000, or almost half of the $862,000 budget. Once that money is gone, the clinic will have to give up other grants, said Champagne.

Get the Story:
Budget menaces urban Indian clinics (The Great Falls Tribune 2/19)

FY2007 HHS Budget in Brief:
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Relevant Links:
National Council of Urban Indian Health - http://www.ncuih.org
Indian Health Service - http://www.ihs.gov

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