Authors: United States Senate

Publication Year: 2008

Last Updated: 2010-09-09

Journal: Congress.Gov

Keywords: Congressional Record, Senate Floor Statements, IHCIA, Indian Health Care Improvement Act

Abstract:

Congressional Record—Senate Floor Statements--January 22, 2008

Native American people to the highest level possible.  A September 2004 report released by the United States Commission on Civil Rights gives us a snapshot of the health crises Native Americans face. Native Americans are 770 percent more likely to die from alcoholism, 650 percent more likely to die from tuberculosis, 420 percent more likely to die from diabetes, 52 percent more likely to die from pneumonia or influenza, and 60 percent more likely to die of suicide.  Also, according to the CDC, American Indians and Alaska Natives, AI/ AN, also have the highest rate of suicide in the 15- to 24-year-old age group, and suicide is the second leading cause of death among Native American youth aged 10 to 24. The overall rate of suicide for American Indians and Alaska Natives is 20.2 per 100,000, or approximately double the rate for all other racial groups in the United States. Given these circumstances, the life expectancy for Native Americans is 71 years of age, nearly 5 years less than the rest of the U.S population.

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