South Dakota governor calls IHS a 'disaster'
South Dakota Gov. Mike Rounds (R) says the Indian Health Service shows how the federal government shouldn't get involved in the health care business.

"Right now in South Dakota, we've got one of the best examples of a health-care system run amok, and that is Indian health," Rounds told The Rapid City Journal. "And I wouldn't wish that health care on anybody. It would be an absolute disaster in America."

Rounds believes government involvement in health care will lead to a reduction services and increase debt. He notes that the IHS runs out of money for out-of-system care "on a regular basis."

The new director of the IHS is Dr. Yvette Roubideaux, a member of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe of South Dakota.

Get the Story:
IHS: An example of what could go wrong? (The Rapid City Journal 8/10)
IHS summit grapples with agency’s role in national health care reform (Indian Country Today 8/9)

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Interview with IHS director Yvette Roubideaux (7/31)
IHS officer says agency funded at half the need (07/22)
Yvette Roubideaux: Reform Indian health care (7/20)
Opinion: A terrible precedent in Indian health (7/20)
Dorgan seeks views on Indian health care reform (07/10)
Letter: Reform IHS before taking on US health care (07/01)
Video: Dr. Roubideaux speech at swearing-in (6/30)
Opinion: The health care crisis in Indian Country (6/30)
Swearing-in ceremony for IHS head Roubideaux (6/29)
Editorial: IHS gets some long-overdue attention (6/26)
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House Resources Committee hearing on IHCIA (6/25)
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