Health Insurance: Expanding Care in Tribal Health Systems
By Southcentral Foundation Corporate Communications
Health insurance coverage can provide families peace of mind and more choices when it comes to managing their health and wellbeing.
Health insurance coverage plays a crucial role in Tribal health organizations.
While the Indian Health Service provides some base funding, Tribal health care providers like Southcentral Foundation rely on insurance to help cover the costs of the array of care they provide. Since the IHS only covers about half of these costs, billing third-party insurance is critical to secure funding for important programs and services that benefit everyone, such as:
- Primary care
- Dental
- Specialty care
- Behavioral health
Health insurance provides customer-owners additional coverage of dental care, hearing aids, and glasses.
Having health insurance benefits both families and health care providers. Additional advantages of third-party health insurance for individuals and families include coverage for glasses, hearing aids, and dental work. If medical transportation is needed, insurance may also cover the cost of ambulance services, medevacs, and out-of-state medical travel. When traveling away from Tribal health facilities, health insurance can be the deciding factor in receiving timely care rather than postponing treatment until you return to a Tribal health service area.
By having health insurance, you help ensure the continuation of these valuable resources for your family and community, making sure high-quality care remains available and accessible for all.
SCF’s Family Health Resources is available to assist with third-party health insurance application processes. For application assistance, call FHR toll-free at (833) 729-4077.
