Gov. Brown disputes feds on tribal sovereignty issue

Governor Kate Brown on Monday affirmed the sovereignty of Oregon’s nine federally recognized Indian tribes and their right to health care in the face of suggestions from the federal government that the tribes be considered racial groups instead of sovereign nations.

Governor Brown’s statement comes as a reaction to the possibility raised by U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services that the federal government may not be obligated to require states to exempt federally recognized Indian tribes from Medicaid work requirements.

“Now more than ever, states must take the lead when it comes to standing up for people and the care they rely on,” Brown said in a news release from her office. “Undercutting access to health care only increases costs and creates barriers to care. This does not just hurt individuals, but all Oregonians.”

” The federal government’s recent stance towards our tribal nations disregards and disrespects the unique and longstanding legal status of Oregon’s nine federally-recognized tribes as sovereign governments,” the governor said. “This is legally unsound and flatly against the government-to-government relationships that we have developed and cherish here in Oregon.”