South Dakotans voted to expand Medicaid coverage to low-income adults on Tuesday.
An amendment to the state constitution passed with 56% support, according to state election data. Mount Rushmore State will join 38 states and the District of Columbia in reliably expanding Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. South Dakota is also the seventh Republican-led state to enact a Medicaid expansion through a ballot initiative.
Beginning July 1, 42,500 adults in South Dakota with incomes below 133% of the federal poverty level — or about $18,000 a year for one person — will be eligible for Medicaid coverage, according to the divisional office. state legislature’s nonpartisan budget analysis. The federal government will cover 90% of the cost of the expansion and provide a two-year 5% bonus of the entire state Medicaid budget.
Legislature analysis predicts the expansion will save South Dakota $162.5 million over five years due to more federal dollars and lower spending on state-run healthcare programs operating.
“South Dakotans know that their families and neighbors deserve care,” said Kelly Hall, executive director of the Equity Project, a progressive organization that supports ballot initiatives. health without going into debt or avoiding the tests, procedures, and medications they need. . “Citizens took it upon themselves to pass Medicaid expansion through the vote — showing us again that if politicians don’t do their job, voters Their will push and do it for them.”
Governor Kristi Noem (R) opposes Medicaid expansion but has committed to the policy. Noem won re-election Tuesday over Democrat Jamie Smith, the minority leader of the South Dakota House of Representatives.
The Association of South Dakota Health Care Organizations, the South Dakota State Medical Association and the South Dakota health systems Avera Health, Sanford Health and Monument Health have backed the measure, which they say will reduce care. does not pay and benefits rural service providers.
“Average thanks to voters who saw the importance of expanding Medicaid so that more than 42,000 South Dakotans, including farmers, parents, and small business employees, have expanded access to care. This is especially important for our rural populations, who are most likely to be uninsured,” the health system said in a statement.
The expansion also drew support from community health centers and doctors, who argued that broader Medicaid coverage would help clinics expand services. “Expanding coverage will help support our work, allow us to maintain care in some of the state’s most rural and border communities, and expand essential services such as health and wellness. behavior and oral care,” Shelly Ten Napel, CEO of the Dakotas Community Health Care Association, said in a statement.
Other organizations supporting the measure include the Nurses Association of South Dakota, the Farmers’ Association of South Dakota, the American Heart Association, the American Diabetes Association, and the South Dakota AARP.
