South Dakota Delegation Demands More from IHS
RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) - Issues of transparency and accountability have dominated the discussion at a U.S. Senate committee hearing on federal legislation aimed at fixing shortcomings at hospitals serving members of Native American tribes.
The hearing Friday in Rapid City, South Dakota, of the U.S. Senate Indian Affairs Committee came as the Indian Health Service implements a series of agency-wide reforms, some of which address severe quality-of-care deficiencies recently found at hospitals on some reservations.
The demands for increasing transparency came from the members of Congress and tribal leaders attending the hearing. They exhorted the IHS to share contracts with Congress and tribes, consult tribal members before making key decisions and agree to an independent audit.
Mary Wakefield is the acting deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. She says the agency "would welcome" the audit of the IHS.
Copyright 2016 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
See Also:
More From KXRB
