NORTH DAKOTA (KXNET) — In America's drug crisis, lawmakers grapple with a tug-of-war between regulation and innovation. But for leaders of tribal lands, who come from areas that are disproportionately affected by drug abuse and addiction, there's really no debate. They're ready for innovation, and it starts now. "Having two new brick-and-mortar facilities built in MHA and in Belcourt says where we're at," said Scott Davis, the former commissioner for the Bureau of Indian Affairs. "We're ready. We're ready to move forward on this." According to Davis, the Native American drug crisis is compounded by one key problem: a lack of beds. Throughout tribal lands, treatment centers are bottlenecked by Medicaid's 16-bed limitation — despite demands for more inpatient care in the community, especially in the wake of a growing opioid crisis that often requires people with addiction to stay in inpatient treatment longer. "When you're limited to 16 beds, and there's such an overflow or waiting list, you know, to get in recovery, that's what we're talking about. That's very, very common, very, very normal, on a reservation," said Davis. Coupled with staffing shortages, tribal treatment centers are left juggling costly referrals to out-of-town or even out-of-state treatment centers. And worse, it leaves Natives struggling with addiction with long wait times that jeopardize their chance of recovery. Ian Cramer pleads guilty to all counts in deputy’s death "So now, if they said, 'no, we don't have a bed available,' well, you're going to wait another two weeks, three weeks, a month," said Davis. "And what does that do for me as a person who's addicted? I'm probably going to continue to use. That's the nature of the disease that we have." Davis says North Dakota lawmakers need to work with tribal care centers to waive this 16-bed limit imposed by Medicaid, providing services that are realistic to the needs of Natives. He believes this will come at no cost to the state since funding for more beds is reimbursable by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. "I think the importance of the state and the Governor's Office to find an innovative way to make this work," said Davis. "That's gotta be strong." And there not only needs to be more beds; there also needs to be more tribal inpatient centers. These centers are vital for Native American communities since they often incorporate cultural practices like sweat lodges and elder speeches to ensure holistic healing that's often lost in translation with Western medicine. In this way, Davis believes lawmakers can truly live by their want to reinvent recovery for North Dakotans. "Let's reinvent it," said Davis. "Let's reinvent this way of the Medicaid waiver. Let's reinvent or find an innovative way to have more beds in these tribal addiction centers: innovation, not regulation." Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Today's Top Stories SIGN UP NOW