Medi-Cal will soon cover traditional healing for those struggling with substance use disorder.
Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that coverage will start Jan. 1.
Opioid overdose deaths among Indigenous people are disproportionately higher than those of other groups and they have historically faced barriers to accessing care.
Officials said the expanded coverage recognizes the need to support culturally based care.
Virginia Hedrick, member of the Yurok Tribe and the Executive Director of the California Consortium for Urban Indian Health, spoke on behalf of the change in an announcement from the state.
“The type of healing that we deserve and the type of healing that we need needs to be culturally based,” Hedrick said. “It needs to be reflective of who we are as a people, it needs to be rooted in our values, it needs to be rooted in our culture and our language and in our unique belief system.”
Practitioners must be recognized tribal members and be employed by an Indian Health Care Provider.
The state said the decision was made in consultation with tribal leaders and recognizes that traditional healing methods can improve recovery outcomes.
“American Indians and Alaska Natives in California experience a number of barriers to accessing western forms of substance use disorders. Our cultural practices have never stopped,” Hedrick said.
California has the largest Native American population in the country.
In 2019, Governor Newsom formally apologized for the poor treatment Indigenous people have suffered in California.