South Dakotans Decide Healthcare, a broad coalition of patient advocates, nurses, healthcare providers, farmers, faith leaders, educators and more, announced today that they have collected more than 33,921 valid signatures to ensure Medicaid expansion will appear before the voters of South Dakota next November.
Zach Marcus, campaign manager for South Dakotans Decide Healthcare issued the following statement, “We are grateful to the more than 47,000 South Dakotans who signed our petition to expand access to affordable coverage options Medicaid expansion would deliver healthcare to 42,500 hardworking South Dakotans and save the state more than $63 million in the process. It’s time to bring South Dakota’s tax dollars home, instead of sending them to New York and California to pay for their healthcare instead. ”
Marcus continued, “Medicaid expansion is a good deal for South Dakota. It will boost the economy, create jobs, save rural hospitals, and every dollar that South Dakotans don’t have to spend paying down medical debt means more money to spend in their local communities. This is a healthcare issue, but it’s also a commonsense fiscal and economic issue.”
South Dakotans Decide Healthcare also released their first ad of the general election this afternoon. This ad will run on a variety of digital platforms and inform South Dakota voters about the benefits that South Dakotans will receive directly from Expanding Medicaid in the state.
South Dakotans Decide Healthcare has been endorsed by the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, AARP South Dakota, South Dakota State Medical Association, South Dakota Nurses Association, South Dakota Association of Healthcare Organizations, South Dakota Education Association, South Dakota Farmers Union, Community Healthcare of the Dakotas, Great Plains Tribal Chairmen’s Health Board, Avera Health, Monument Health, Sanford Health, American Heart Association, American Lung Association, South Dakota Faith in Public Life, and more. It is one of the broadest coalitions to ever launch a ballot measure campaign in the state’s history.
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