The IHS denied funding for outsourced care 82% of the time last fiscal year, an investigation by KJRH, the NBC-affiliated news station in Tulsa, Oklahoma, revealed. The news team traced the problem to lack of staff. Claremore Hospital in Oklahoma, for instance, had 3 vacant full-time surgeon positions and at the time of the story, just 1 full-time surgeon and 1 temporary surgeon. Fewer surgeons lead to more outsourcing, but outsourced care is more expensive and may often be denied, the news team found.
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When the news team reported the staffing shortage to Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK), he said he would look further into the “penny-wise, pound-foolish” decisions. He added that filling the positions would be more cost effective. According to Rep. Cole, the IHS has had a serious funding shortage for decades, though he has been able to increase funding by 39%. More needs to be done, he admits, saying he was currently working on legislation that would further increase funding.
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Rep. Cole is a member of the Chickasaw Nation and one of only two Native Americans serving in the U.S. House of Representatives.