REGIONAL- Greater access to traditional healing practices could be coming for Native Americans enrolled in Medical Assistance, Minnesota’s Medicaid program.
The Minnesota Department of Human Services is seeking federal approval for a five-year demonstration project that would allow participating Tribal and Indian health facilities to bill Medical Assistance for services such as sweat lodges, talking circles, smudging ceremonies, and other culturally established practices. DHS submitted its application on Aug. 14.
The proposal, called Mino Bimaadiziwin-Wičhózani, would allow eligible American Indian Medical Assistance recipients to receive traditional healing services through participating Indian Health Service, Tribal, and urban Indian health facilities. The name generally translates to wellness and good health in the Ojibwe and Dakota languages.
Eligible facilities could include those operated by the Bois Forte Band, although each Tribe would decide whether to participate and which services to offer.
Because traditional healing practices vary among Tribal communities, participating facilities would establish their own standards for recognizing qualified traditional healers.
Healers would have to be employed or contracted by an eligible facility, but would not be required to enroll individually as Medicaid providers. DHS said that approach would help preserve the confidentiality and cultural integrity of the practices.
Services could also be provided away from a clinic when necessary, such as at a sweat lodge. Facilities would be responsible for establishing medical-necessity requirements and maintaining documentation supporting Medicaid claims.
The program would not expand general Medical Assistance eligibility. Traditional healing would be available as an option to recipients who meet the Indian Health Service definition of American Indian and are eligible to receive care through participating facilities.
Use of the benefit would not reduce or replace other Medicaid-covered care. Eligible recipients would pay no cost-sharing, and reimbursement would be limited to one traditional-healing encounter per recipient per day.
The proposal grew out of a 2024 DHS report examining health disparities among American Indians enrolled in Medical Assistance. More than half of those surveyed said traditional healing practices were important to their health and that they wanted greater opportunities to participate in them.
The report identified a shortage of available healers and inadequate funding to compensate them as barriers to accessing traditional healing. It recommended seeking Medicaid coverage for the services.
DHS developed the proposal with input from a workgroup of Tribal representatives convened in September 2025 and through regular meetings with Tribal and urban Indian health directors.
DHS estimates approximately 38,000 Tribal members live near potentially eligible Indian Health Service and Tribal facilities. Average monthly participation is projected to grow from 488 recipients during the project’s first year to 1,626 in its fifth year.
DHS projects recipients would average five traditional-healing services during each month they use the benefit, reflecting the possibility of weekly or twice-weekly sessions over shorter periods.
Projected annual spending rises from approximately $26.6 million during the first year to $114.6 million in the fifth. Total spending over five years is estimated at $370.3 million, including approximately $352.1 million in federal funding and $18.2 million from the state.
Those estimates are based partly on the federal all-inclusive encounter rate paid to eligible Indian health facilities, which is $826 in 2026, with increases projected in subsequent years. Actual participation and spending could vary.
Minnesota would not be the first state to cover traditional healing through Medicaid. CMS approved similar demonstration projects for Arizona, California, New Mexico, and Oregon in October 2024. Those states began putting their programs into operation during 2025, although publicly available federal monitoring reports do not yet include meaningful utilization figures.
CMS has no fixed deadline for deciding whether to approve the request and could require changes or additional conditions. State law calls for services to become available Jan. 1, 2027, or upon federal approval, whichever is later. DHS said it is developing the policies, billing procedures, training, and provider requirements needed to begin coverage.