Sarah Palin said last week during the vice presidential debate that her family has endured periods where they’ve been uninsured and she understands what it’s like for Americans “to sit around the kitchen table and try to figure out how are they going to pay out-of-pocket for health care.” But she forgot to mention that most of her family — thanks to her husband’s lineage – likely is eligible for health care through the federal Indian Health Service, reports Laura McGann of the Washington Independent.

 

McGann, reporting from Alaska, goes on to write in her post:

 

Unlike the vast majority of Americans, her husband and children had a good chance of qualifying for free, federally funded, comprehensive health care under a program of the Dept. of Health and Human Services’ Indian Health Service.

The governor’s husband, Todd Palin, traces his Yup’ik ancestry to his maternal grandmother. Sarah Palin routinely mentions her husband’s background at public appearances, and did this regularly when she ran for governor in 2006. At the time, the issue painted her in a positive light with the Native Alaskan voting bloc.

 

McGann goes on to explain how one can qualify for coverage through the federal program.