On another reservation 200 miles north of Standing Rock, Ardel Baker, a member of North Dakota’s Three Affiliated Tribes, knows all too well the truth behind the joke about money running out.

Baker went to her local clinic with severe chest pains and was sent by ambulance to a hospital more than an hour away. It wasn’t until she got there that she noticed she had a note attached to her, written on U.S. Department of Health and Human Services letterhead.

“Understand that Priority 1 care cannot be paid for at this time due to funding issues,” the letter read. “A formal denial letter has been issued.”

As a child of the Indian Health Services system, I can assure you the best of their hospitals just doesn’t have enough money or people or facilities. It breaks my heart to read these stories, and to be reminded of how lucky I am to have health insurance and access to higher quality health care now.