The Navajo Nation has experienced a historically consistent lack of U.S. federal and state government support, reflecting a failure to uphold legal trust and treaty obligations. The U.S. Congress often cites legal barriers as the primary cause for the lack of structural healthcare development, resulting in a scarcity of federally funded clinics, hospitals, and "Western medicine" practitioners. Furthermore, despite suffering higher per capita COVID-19 exposure rates, the Navajo Nation did not qualify for "hot spot" relief under Department of Health and Human Services criteria. Petitions for federally funded Indian Health Organizations remain pending in congressional and legal battles.