On changing Indian eligibility for health care.

We analyzed the ramifications and potential effects of a pending regulation that restricts Indian eligibility for health care. The most serious implication is a dwindling of support for Indian health care while the health of Indians continues to lag behind that of all other groups in the United States. Empirical analysis in one service area of the Indian Health Service (IHS) in Oklahoma reveals Indians of lower blood quantum to be younger, lower utilizers of expensive medical services, especially hospitals. The sudden loss of health care benefits from IHS will be detrimental not only to this population and to an ever increasing number of Indians in the future but also to the local service units in the Indian Health Service.