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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T

SPONSOR Jennings

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

3/16/07

HB

SHORT TITLE Native American Health Care Laws Suits Merits

SJM 73

ANALYST Baca

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY07

FY08

NFI

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases

)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

Senate Joint Memorial 73 requests the Office of the Attorney General investigate the merits of a

lawsuit against the United States to enforce

treaty obligations to provide health care to Native

Americans.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

SJM 73 contains no appropriation. However, there are implicit but unknown costs in honoring its

provisions.

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

SJM 73 cites the federal government’s treaty obligations to Native Americans generally and

commitment to providing health care specifically. The bill relates the decreasing federal support

for health care for Native Americans, the creating of conditions that tend to discourage Native

Americans from seeking health care in a timely manner and the adverse impact on their health

they seek assistance outside the BIA health care system. The federal government’s responsibility

is founded on treaty, statute constitution and ethics, according to the memorial.

The memorial notes that The Indian health service, prior to the funding cuts, spent an estimated

one thousand nine hundred twenty dollars ($1,920) per patient per year, which is less than half

the amount spent for veterans, for federal prisoners or for Medicare recipients.

Senate Joint Memorial 73 – Page

2

The memorial also points out the New Mexico and other states cannot bear the sole fiscal

responsibility for providing health care to their Native American populations.

ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS

SJM 73 requests that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the Attorney General, the

Secretary of Indian Affairs, the President of the Navajo Nation, the Speaker of the Navajo Nation

Council, the President of the Jicarilla Apache Nation, the President of the Mescalero Apache

Tribe, the Chair of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, the governors of the nineteen Indian pueblos in

New Mexico and the members of the New Mexico congressional delegation.

LRB/csd