TAHLEQUAH, Okla. — Cherokee Nation leaders gathered Tuesday at the Chota Conference Center in Tahlequah for the Cherokee Nation Healthcare Economic Impact Summit, highlighting the findings of a newly released report examining the far-reaching economic contributions of the Cherokee Nation healthcare system across the state of Oklahoma.
The summit centered on the findings of the 2025 Economic Impact of Cherokee Nation Health report, prepared for Cherokee Nation by Dr. Russell Evans, Dean of the College of Business at the University of Central Oklahoma and Founder of Regional Economic Advisers, a division of Thorberg Collectorate. The report provides a comprehensive analysis of how CNHS, the largest tribally operated healthcare system in the United States, functions as a major economic engine for Oklahoma communities, particularly in rural northeastern Oklahoma.
According to the report, Cherokee Nation Health Services generated a total of more than $2 billion in statewide economic output in fiscal year 2025, while supporting nearly 11,500 Oklahoma jobs and $781.7 million in labor income across the state. Direct impacts alone accounted for more than 5,900 jobs and $418 million in labor income. The report attributes these outcomes to CNHS operations across its 12 facilities, Public Health and Wellness, purchased and referred care expenditures, employee healthcare utilization, and Medicaid Expansion funding.
“When people have access to quality healthcare, families thrive and communities grow stronger,” said Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. “Through our healthcare system, partnerships, and investments in people, Cherokee Nation is creating lasting opportunities for better health, a stronger economy and a brighter future.”
The report details decades of sustained capital investment as the foundation for CNHS’s current economic footprint. In the past decade alone, Cherokee Nation has invested approximately $1.12 billion in healthcare facilities and equipment, including the $200 million Cherokee Nation Outpatient Health Center, the $470 million replacement of W.W. Hastings Hospital, and approximately $270 million in expanded health centers across communities including Stilwell, Muskogee, Vinita, Ochelata, Jay and Salina. An additional $600 million in projects are currently under construction or in the planning phase.
“Cherokee Nation Health Services is one of the most powerful tools we have for strengthening communities across northeastern Oklahoma,” said Deputy Principal Chief Bryan Warner. “These numbers tell the story of what happens when a tribe invests consistently and strategically in the health of its people. We are not just treating patients, we are sustaining economies, creating careers and keeping rural communities viable for future generations of Cherokee citizens.”
Beyond direct healthcare delivery, the report examines several additional dimensions of CNHS’s economic reach. Contract health payments of $36 million reflect approximately $180.8 million in underlying healthcare demand, supporting more than 1,600 jobs and $294 million in economic output statewide. Cherokee Nation also provided healthcare benefits to more than 23,000 plan participants in 2025, paying nearly $188 million in plan-paid benefit costs and supporting an additional 1,239 jobs and $219 million in economic output across the state.
Medicaid Expansion funding, totaling $120.3 million in FY2025 and representing approximately 12% of CNHS total operating revenues, is tied to an estimated $222.6 million in total Oklahoma economic output and more than 1,400 jobs.
“What this data shows us is that Cherokee Nation Health Services is a uniquely positioned institution, operating on both the supply and demand sides of Oklahoma’s healthcare economy,” said Cherokee Nation Businesses Chief Economist and Special Envoy to the U.S. Department of the Treasury Tralynna Scott. “Very few organizations generate economic activity at this scale while simultaneously filling critical healthcare gaps in medically underserved communities. The $2 billion figure is significant, but the deeper story is how those dollars ripple outward, supporting vendors, creating jobs and putting wages into households across the region.”
Special Envoy Scott began assembling the data and working with Dr. Evans to conduct the economic impact analysis on February 25, 2026, based on Chief Hoskin’s directive to conduct the study.
The report also highlights strategic partnerships that extend CNHS’s reach beyond its own facilities. Cherokee Nation partnered with Oklahoma State University to establish the OSU College of Osteopathic Medicine at the Cherokee Nation, the first tribally affiliated medical school in the United States, backed by a $40 million investment. A separate $30 million investment with the University of Oklahoma supports a future nursing and allied health education center, along with a $5.15 million scholarship endowment for Cherokee students pursuing healthcare careers. Additionally, in 2025, Cherokee Nation committed $16 million to Mercy Hospital Fort Smith and the OU Stephenson Cancer Center to advance cancer prevention, research, screening and treatment.
“The data within this economic impact study is remarkable. Our health care system has supported statewide economic output, thousands and thousands of Oklahoma jobs, and hundreds of millions of dollars in labor income flowing into Oklahoma households,” said District 1 Councilor Sasha Blackfox-Qualls. “To no surprise, our health system is one of the most important economic engines in northeastern Oklahoma. The Council is proud to support our Health Services programs and the thousands of people working every day to strengthen and expand our health care for citizens.”
The report emphasizes that economic impact is not the mission of CNHS, but rather a byproduct of the system’s intentional pursuit of healthier Cherokee communities, more equitable healthcare access and improved quality of life. CNHS currently serves more than 130,000 unique patients annually, delivering over 3.3 million services, 840,000 medical visits, 110,000 dental visits and 2.3 million prescriptions each year.
The full report can be found here.