Concerns arise as dueling ballot measures both seek to expand Medicaid coverage in South Dakota
Some advocates for Medicaid expansion in South Dakota are concerned that two ballot measures with different language and separate backers but the same goals may confuse or diffuse voters, reducing the chances of success in the November election.
The goal of each campaign is to provide health care coverage to more than 40,000 additional low-income South Dakota residents by broadening Medicaid insurance criteria as established by the Affordable Care Act, with the federal government covering 90 percent of the cost. Unlike Medicare, which provides coverage for the elderly, Medicaid focuses on low-income individuals and covers services such as hospital visits, preventative care, X-rays and family planning.
The ACA in 2010 expanded Medicaid to include nearly all adults with incomes up to 138% of the federal poverty level, which currently translates to an annual salary of about $18,000 for an individual (or $36,500 for a family of four). But the Supreme Court ruled in 2012 that states could reject the expansion and still get federal funding for traditional Medicaid costs, which all states currently receive.
South Dakota is one of just 12 states that hasn’t expanded Medicaid, making it an outlier even among neighboring Republican-led states such as North Dakota, Iowa and Nebraska. But expansion proponents are optimistic after seeing voters reject Amendment C – which would have made ballot measures involving state spending more difficult to pass – in the primary election June 7 with 67 percent of the vote.
Read more: https://www.sdnewswatch.org/stories/concerns-arise-as-dueling-ballot-measures-both-seek-to-expand-medicaid-coverage-in-south-dakota/