Medicaid/CHIP

Medicaid is a state and federally funded health care program that provides essential health care services to low-income patients. Without Medicaid, thousands more South Dakotans would be uninsured.

The SDSMA advocates not just for adequate funding for the Medicaid program, but for Medicaid eligibility expansion, and for the program to promote wellness and prevention, coordinated care for those with chronic diseases, and assurance that all Medicaid patients have a medical home.

The SDSMA is a partner in a broad coalition, South Dakotans Decide Healthcare, which aimed to let voters decide in the 2022 statewide General Election whether to expand health care in South Dakota for more than 40,000 South Dakotans. The ballot measure was approved by voters on Nov. 8, 2022. Thirty-nine states have now expanded Medicaid.