Medicaid expansion group loses ballot timeline challenge

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — The South Dakota Supreme Court has rejected an effort by Medicaid supporters to challenge a constitutional amendment that would make it more difficult to expand the federal program to more people in need. The ruling Wednesday is a setback for the Medicaid expansion group, Dakotans for Health. The group wants voters to pass a constitutional amendment in November 2022 to expand eligibility for Medicaid. But the Legislature has proposed its own constitutional amendment that ballot initiatives like Medicaid expansion must meet a 60% vote requirement. The Supreme Court’s ruling means the vote on that constitutional amendment will happen in the June 2022 primary election.