Alaska tribal health leaders urge Medicaid recognition for traditional healing, highlight workforce and rural access challenges

April Kyle, president and CEO of Southcentral Foundation, told the Alaska House Tribal Affairs Committee on March 17 that traditional healing is already integrated into her organization’s primary-care model and that the state has a timely opportunity to secure federal support to expand such services. "We have an opportunity that we haven't had before at a national level to, for states to apply and receive approval for waivers to add traditional healing services to state Medicaid plans," Kyle said during her presentation to the committee.

Kyle described Southcentral Foundation's apprenticeship pathway overseen by an elder council, noting the system recently conferred tribal doctor titles on two apprentices and that trainees move through three levels of training while continuing other work. She cited SCF program evaluation covering 1,409 people over three years that found statistically significant reductions in self-reported pain and declines in primary-care and emergency-department use after patients completed traditional-healing services.

Why it matters: Panelists told committee members that recognizing tribal doctors and traditional healing as reimbursable services would not only honor tribal sovereignty…