Medicaid expansion

COMMENTARY
(Getty Images)

Thousands of South Dakotans will see immediate benefits from Medicaid expansion

BY: - August 4, 2023

Many South Dakotans rejoiced with their family, friends and neighbors on July 1, the effective date of voter-approved Amendment D. With Medicaid expansion, we are keeping millions of our federal taxpayer dollars in the state, strengthening our economy and helping to keep rural hospitals open. South Dakota joins 39 other states across the nation in […]

(Getty Images)

54,000 South Dakotans disenrolled in Medicaid unwind; 52,000 expected to be eligible with expansion

BY: - July 26, 2023

Roughly 54,000 South Dakotans have lost Medicaid coverage since the end of pandemic protections in March. At the same time, 52,000 South Dakotans are estimated to be eligible for enrollment in a voter-approved Medicaid expansion that took effect on July 1, state officials told legislators at an appropriations meeting Wednesday in Pierre. Voters approved the […]

Protestors carry signs as they demonstrate against proposed cuts to Medicaid and Medicare outside San Francisco City Hall in 2011. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Half a million people in less than a dozen states have lost Medicaid coverage since April

BY: - June 1, 2023

More than 500,000 people across 11 states have lost their Medicaid coverage since the unwinding of a policy that allowed people to stay in the program throughout the pandemic. The data, reported by the states and tracked by health policy researcher KFF, shows that of the five states providing data on people who lost Medicaid […]

The South Dakota Department of Social Services in Pierre. (John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight)

Thousands face Medicaid whiplash in South Dakota

BY: - May 18, 2023

Until recently, Jonathon Murray relied on Medicaid to pay for treatments for multiple health conditions, including chronic insomnia. Murray, a 20-year-old restaurant worker from the college town of Brookings, said that without his medication, he would stay awake for several nights in a row. “I’d probably not be able to work that much because I’d […]

(Getty Images)

22,000 South Dakotans could lose Medicaid now, about half could get it back later, state says

BY: - April 18, 2023

Roughly 22,000 South Dakota Medicaid recipients are “likely to be ineligible” in the coming months as pandemic protections expire, but perhaps half of them could qualify again in July when a voter-approved expansion takes effect, Deputy Director of Medical Services Sarah Aker told the state Board of Social Services at its Tuesday meeting. The decline […]

(Getty Images)

Postpartum Medicaid expansion is the first step to maternal health equity, experts say 

BY: - March 29, 2023

Arkansas has the highest maternal mortality rate in the United States: 43.5 deaths from 2018 to 2021 for every 100,000 live births, according to the latest federal data. But the state only extends postpartum Medicaid to 60 days after childbirth.  A bill by Arkansas Rep. Aaron Pilkington, R-Knoxville, aims to change that and would seek […]

COMMENTARY
A Sioux Falls election polling place on the morning of Nov. 8, 2022. (Joshua Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight)

Medicaid work requirement would undermine election, threaten cancer care

BY: - February 6, 2023

Just a few short months ago, South Dakotans voted, by a wide margin, to provide access to affordable health care. They voted to help thousands of fellow South Dakotans stuck in the coverage gap, and they voted to prevent the Legislature from adding additional burdens to that access. Before Medicaid expansion is even implemented, politicians […]

Aerial photo of the Capitol building in Pierre. (Getty Images)

Legislative roundup: Elections, transgender kids and Noem’s first signatures

BY: - February 3, 2023

PIERRE – Aside from the ongoing saga of censured-and-reinstated Sen. Julie Frye-Mueller, elections were the major theme this week in the Legislature.  Our own Josh Haiar spent Friday morning in the House State Affairs Committee, where he heard debate on a few of the 46 election-related bills filed as of 1 p.m. Friday. Here’s a […]

Legislators and guests wait for Gov. Kristi Noem to deliver her budget address on Dec. 6, 2022, in the House chamber at the Capitol in Pierre. (Joshua Haiar/SD Searchlight)

House sends Medicaid work requirement ballot measure to Senate

BY: - January 31, 2023

A resolution that would put Medicaid back on the ballot in 2024 passed the House of Representatives and will head to the Senate. The House passed HJR 5004 with a 60-8 vote. The resolution would ask South Dakota voters to amend the state constitution to let the state impose work requirements on “able-bodied” people eligible […]

The South Dakota Capitol building in Pierre. (Joshua Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight)

Committee passes resolution that would allow Medicaid work requirements

BY: - January 30, 2023

South Dakotans may find Medicaid on the ballot again in 2024. The House State Affairs Committee passed a joint resolution Monday morning 11-2. It would ask South Dakota voters to amend the state constitution to let the state impose work requirements on “able-bodied” people eligible for expanded Medicaid. South Dakota voters approved a constitutional amendment […]

COMMENTARY
A voter fills out a ballot on Nov. 8, 2022, at a polling place in Sioux Falls. (Joshua Haiar/SD Searchlight)

In South Dakota and elsewhere, voters spoke clearly on health care

BY: - December 21, 2022

In November, millions of voters in red, blue and purple states voted on the future of our health care directly on the ballot. And U.S. Sen. Warnock ran his re-election campaign and run-off on health care. Health care won decisively. Voters decided to expand Medicaid in South Dakota, meaning more than 40,000 low-income South Dakotans […]

A vote-here sign, pictured on Nov. 8, 2022, at the All Souls Church on Cliff Avenue in Sioux Falls. (Joshua Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight)

Why Medicaid expansion ballots may hit a dead end after a fleeting victory in South Dakota

BY: and - December 19, 2022

Republican-led legislatures have repeatedly thwarted Medicaid expansion in a dozen conservative states, despite high numbers of uninsured residents. In recent years, supporters of expansion have found success with another strategy: letting voters decide. Since 2017, Medicaid expansion has passed in seven states where the issue was put on the ballot, adopting the Affordable Care Act […]