The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that the federal government must provide additional funding to cover some administrative costs incurred by Native American tribes that operate their own health-care programs. By a vote of 5-4, with Justice Neil Gorsuch – perhaps the strongest ally of Native Americ
Gorsuch has a libertarian streak that leads him to side with individuals against the government. Bad when those individuals are a corporation, good when they are NA tribes.
In his dissent, Kavanaugh countered that federal law does “not support the Court’s decision.” And more broadly, he continued, “the extra federal money that the Court today green-lights does not come free.” If Congress does not increase the overall funding for Native American health-care programs, he wrote, Thursday’s ruling will shift more of that funding from less affluent tribes – which are less likely to run their own health-care programs – to wealthier ones. Congress’s other option, he added, would be to “substantially” increase funding for all Native American health-care programs, “thereby drawing money away from other vital federal programs or requiring additional taxes.”