Understanding Where American Indian/Alaska Native People Reside and Access to Health Care
Profile
The Colorado Department of Health and the Environment (CDPHE) Tribal Liaison Unit is a thought and data access partner of the Denver Indian Health and Family Services Center (DIHFS). DIHFS is the only urban Indian health service center in Colorado and provides a wide array of health care services to American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) people living in the Denver Metropolitan Area.
Summary
DIHFS operates a Mobil Health Unit for AI/AN individuals and wanted to know where they should focus their outreach and service delivery to AI/AN populations in Colorado, and to support pursuing additional funding for the Mobil Health Unit. However, CDPHE and DIHFS were lacking data on where American Indian and Alaska Native individuals live in Colorado and what type of health care insurance they have. CIVHC completed an analysis using member eligibility information in the Colorado All Payer Claims Database (CO APCD) to map where AI/AN individuals reside across the state and to provide aggregated demographic and insurance-related information about the AI/AN population.
Results
In 2022, the highest number of AI/AN members were concentrated in the following counties from highest to lowest: Denver, Montezuma, El Paso, Jefferson, Arapahoe, Adams, La Plata, Larimer, Weld, Mesa, Douglas, Garfield, Montrose, Fremont, Rio Grande, and Alamosa. It was found that most AI/AN members in the CO APCD were enrolled in Medicaid across all years, followed by Commercial plans. This was true across all AI/AN classifications.
Benefit to Colorado
This evaluation provides CDPHE and DIHFS support for their newly formulated Mobile Health Unit. This traveling clinic site is providing necessary medical and dental services across Colorado and this evaluation helps ensure they are meeting the needs of underserved communities, with the aim of achieving greater health equity for AI/AN populations in Colorado.
