South Dakota votes to expand Medicaid to low-income adults

A doctor in a Medicaid clinic speaks to a father with his child

South Dakotans yesterday voted to amend their state constitution to expand Medicaid eligibility to low-income adults under the Affordable Care Act. The measure requires the state to submit to the federal government by March 1 a Medicaid state plan amendment to expand eligibility by July 1, 2023.

“The South Dakota Association of Healthcare Organizations is happy with the outcome on South Dakota’s Constitutional Amendment D,” said SDAHO CEO Tim Rave. “Its passage will provide the opportunity for more South Dakotans to have access to affordable healthcare coverage.”

The U.S. Supreme Court in 2012 upheld the constitutionality of the ACA’s individual mandate to obtain health insurance and expansion of Medicaid eligibility to all legal residents earning up to 133% of the federal poverty level, but struck down the penalty for states declining to participate in the Medicaid expansion.

According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, 11 states have yet to adopt the ACA’s Medicaid expansion.

Medicaid