SD Senate rejects Medicaid expansion, leaving it to election

PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — A proposal to expand Medicaid health coverage eligibility was defeated in the South Dakota Senate. That leaves the decision to voters in the November 2022 election. Republican Sen. Wayne Steinhauer had brought a proposal to the Legislature to make Medicaid, a federal-state health insurance program for low-income people, available to people who live below 133% of the federal poverty level. The Republican-controlled Senate rejected his bill. But a campaign backed by South Dakota’s major health care systems is trying to get voters to pass a constitutional amendment to expand Medicaid eligibility on the November ballot.