New Mexico Medicaid now covers traditional Native American healing

New Mexico is now one of the first states in the nation to cover traditional Native American healing practices under Medicaid.

The coverage was approved in October 2024 by the federal government for tribal communities in New Mexico, Arizona, California and Oregon, according to a news release from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

In New Mexico, the five-year program became effective Oct. 1, 2025, according to Heidi Capriotti, deputy director of the New Mexico Health Care Authority. Involvement is left up to individual tribal governments, and as of last week, the HCA has its first participant — the Navajo Nation, the largest Native American tribe in the United States.

“We have heard for many, many years from our tribal providers that they want this kind of health care that's culturally appropriate and is equitable,” Capriotti said. “So we’re really excited to be able to provide this to tribes who want to participate.”

Patients can see a provider at an Indian Health Services facility and be referred to a traditional healer, who is reimbursed via Medicaid, Capriotti said.

“It’s actually a nice, important shift, because now it begins to acknowledge traditional practices as a legitimate health care for many native communities,” said Norman Cooeyate, associate director of the Center for Native American Health at the University of New Mexico and former governor of the Zuni Pueblo.

Though each of the 19 pueblos in New Mexico has its own set of traditional healing practices, for the Zuni Pueblo, traditional healing can involve the use of herbal medicine, minerals, sweat lodges, ceremonies and prayers, or a reconnection to nature, Cooeyate said.

Traditional healing involves “ancestral ways of creating a balance that provides holistic health and well-being,” he said. “Not just only in our own personal selves — meaning our own personal body, mind, spirit, emotions — but it also extends to the relationships that we have and depend on.”

Families may pay traditional healers with gifts, Cooeyate said, which can be a heavy lift for those in rural New Mexico of little financial means. Adding Medicaid coverage can lessen the financial burden.

“It’s not that we would only want Indigenous practices. We understand that Western practices are important, too,” he said. “Combining the two … leads to better collaborative efforts to make our health care services be more equitable.”

Natalie Robbins covers education for the Journal. You can reach her at nrobbins@abqjournal.com.