A bill expanding Medicaid coverage for South Dakotans up to 138 percent of the federal poverty line failed to make it out of a House committee.
Members of the House State Affairs Committee voted down House Bill 1210. Proponents of the measure say it provides coverage for people who earn too much money to currently qualify for Medicaid, but not enough to qualify for premium tax credits available through the health insurance marketplace. Proponents say it’s a good investment for South Dakota, because the federal government pays one hundred percent of the increase for the first few years. South Dakota pays ten percent after that. Dean Krogman is with the South Dakota State Medical Association. He says people without health insurance coverage are less likely to get preventative services, and that costs the state money.
“We believe that by expanding Medicaid, that people will have access, and will go to the doctor, instead of showing up in the emergency where the cost is much higher,” Krogman says.
But opponents say they are concerned about costs as well. They are worried about how the federal government is going to pay for expansion. Some opponents say they favor expansion, just not in the way the federal government requires. Department of Social Services Secretary Kim Malsam- Rysdon says Governor Daugaard has requested the federal government to allow states flexibility when expanding Medicaid.
“We are waiting for a response to that. And we are hopeful that the federal government will in fact grant that flexibility to states so that South Dakota, if it chooses to expand, can do so in a way that makes sense for South Dakota,” Malsam-Rysdon says.
Malsam-Rysdon says House Bill 1210 creates unnecessary red tape and isn’t needed in state statute.
Committee members voted eight to five to send the bill to the 41st legislative day.