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South Dakota Medicaid Expansion Amendment (2022)
| South Dakota Medicaid Expansion Amendment | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 8, 2022 | |
| Topic Healthcare | |
| Status Not on the ballot | |
| Type Constitutional amendment | Origin Citizens |
The South Dakota Medicaid Expansion Amendment was not on the ballot in South Dakota as an initiated constitutional amendment on November 8, 2022.
Dakotans4Helath, sponsors of this constitutional amendment initiative, also filed a Medicaid expansion measure that was designed to amend state statute (rather than the state constitution) to expand Medicaid and direct the Department of Social Services to promulgate implementing rules.
Measure design
The measure was designed to amend the constitution to require the state to provide Medicaid benefits to adults between 18 and 65 with incomes below 133% of the federal poverty level.[1][2]
Text of measure
Ballot title
The ballot title would have been as follows:[2]
| “ | An initiated amendment to the South Dakota constitution expanding Medicaid eligibility.[3] | ” |
Attorney General explanation
The attorney general's explanation for the measure was as follows:[2]
| “ |
Medicaid is a program, funded by the State and the federal government, to provide medical coverage for low-income people who are in certain designated categories. This constitutional amendment expands Medicaid eligibility in South Dakota. It requires the State to provide Medicaid benefits to any person over age 18 and under 65 whose income is at or below 133% of the federal poverty level and who meets other eligibility requirements in federal law. For people who qualify under this amendment, the State may not impose burdens or restrictions that are greater than those imposed on any other group eligible for medical assistance. The State must obtain federal approval of the Medicaid expansion coverage set forth in this amendment. Additionally, the Legislature must pass laws to implement this amendment.[3] |
” |
Constitutional changes
- See also: Article XXI, South Dakota Constitution
The measure would have added a new section to Article XXI of the state constitution. The following underlined text would have been added:[2] Note: Hover over the text and scroll to see the full text.
§10 The State of South Dakota shall provide Medicaid benefits to any person over age 18 and under age 65 whose income is 133% of the federal poverty level or less as provided by federal law and who meets other nonfinancial eligibility requirements of the federal Medicaid law. The State of South Dakota may not impose on any such person any greater or additional burdens or restrictions on eligibility, enrollment or benefits than on any other group eligible for medical assistance.
Within 9O days of voter approval of this section, the State of South Dakota shall submit a state plan amendment and all other necessary documents, and take all additional steps necessary to seek required approvals from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to include such persons as a coverage group in South Dakota's Medicaid program.
The Legislature shall provide by law any provisions necessary to implement this section.[3]
Support
Dakotans for Health filed the measure. Former Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Rick Weiland of Dakotans for Health sponsored the initiative.[4]
Supporters
- South Dakota state senator and Democratic Party Executive Director Pam Cole[5]
- The Eastern Building Trades Unions[6]
- The International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 120[7]
- United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW)[8]
- International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 426[9]
- South Dakota State Federation of Labor (AFL-CIO)[10]
- Great Plains Tribal Chairmen's Association (GPTCA)[11]
Arguments
- Dakotans for Health said, "Right now, too many South Dakotans work at jobs that don’t offer health insurance, forcing thousands of our neighbors and family members to choose between life-saving care and putting food on the table. Reforming Medicaid will change that for over 40,000 South Dakotans, making our families healthier and our economy stronger. It will deliver healthcare to those who need it but can’t afford it, including many parents, seniors, and hardworking folks who earn less than $17,000 a year. It will also bring more than $300 million of our tax dollars home from Washington, D.C. every year that will make it possible to provide health insurance to the uninsured, protect our rural hospitals, boost our economy, and create thousands of new jobs."
- Adam Weiland, co-founder of Dakotans for Health, said, "Who can be against providing 42,000 of our fellow South Dakota access to affordable healthcare and a 15-1 return on investment? This is a no brainer.”[5]
Opposition
If you are aware of any opponents or opposing arguments, please send an email with a link to editor@ballotpedia.org.
Background
Medicaid expansion under the ACA
- See also: Medicaid and Obamacare
The Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare, was signed into law on March 23, 2010.[12] The ACA provided for the expansion of Medicaid to cover all individuals earning incomes up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level, which amounted to $17,236 for individuals in 2019.[13][14][15] The law was designed to provide 100 percent of funding to cover the new recipients for the first three years and to cut off federal Medicaid funding to states that chose not to expand coverage. However, the United States Supreme Court ruled in National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius (2012) that the federal government could not withhold Medicaid funds from states that chose not to expand eligibility. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, this ruling had the practical effect of making Medicaid expansion optional for states.[16]
From 2014 to 2016, the federal government covered 100 percent of the costs of state expansion of Medicaid. In 2017, the total cost of expanded coverage that the federal government financed decreased to 95 percent. The ACA was designed to decrease the amount the federal government covers to 94 percent in 2018, 93 percent in 2019, and 90 percent in 2020 and subsequent years.[17]
The Affordable Care Act had not provided tax credits to adults with household incomes less than the federal poverty line because the law had aimed to cover these people under Medicaid. In states that did not expand Medicaid, many of these adults fell into a coverage gap in which they neither qualified for Medicaid nor for federal tax credits to purchase health insurance. As of 2018, around 2.5 million people fell into this coverage gap across the states that did not expand Medicaid.[13]
Adoption of Medicaid expansion under the ACA
As of January 2022, a total of 38 states and Washington, D.C., had expanded or voted to expand Medicaid, while 12 states had not. The map below provides information on Medicaid expansions by state; for states that expanded, hover over the state to view the political affiliation of the governor at the time of expansion.[18]
Path to the ballot
The state process
In South Dakota, the number of signatures required to qualify an initiated constitutional amendment for the ballot is equal to 10 percent of the votes cast for governor in the previous gubernatorial election. Signatures must be submitted by the first Tuesday of May during a general election year.
The requirements to get an initiated constitutional amendment certified for the 2022 ballot:
- Signatures: 33,921 valid signatures were required.
- Deadline: The deadline to submit signatures was November 8, 2021.
Once the signatures have been gathered and filed, the secretary of state verifies the signatures using a random sample method.
Details about this initiative
- Former Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Rick Weiland of Dakotans for Health sponsored the initiative.[1]
- The measure was approved for circulation on November 5, 2020.[1]
- Dakotans for Health filed a lawsuit seeking to block enforcement of Senate Bill 180, which was passed in 2020 and that amended requirements for circulating initiatives. Dakotans for Health argued that the bill would "unconstitutionally impede Dakotans for Health from obtaining the signatures needed to place Medicaid reform on the November 2022 ballot."[19] On June 14, 2021, the United States District Court for the District of South Dakota granted Dakotans for Health a preliminary injunction and blocked enforcement of Senate Bill 180. The court wrote that the requirements in SB 180 burden the group's First Amendment Rights and that "the state did not meet its burden of showing that the burdensome requirements of SB 180 are substantially related to the State's interests in election integrity and avoiding fraud."[20]
- Proponents did not submit signatures for the initiated constitutional amendment petition by the November 8, 2021, deadline. A different group, South Dakotans Decide Healthcare, submitted signatures for their Medicaid expansion amendment on the deadline. Since the deadlines for initiated measures that amend state law was extended to May 3, 2022, Dakotans 4 Health said they would collect signatures for that measure and would support South Dakotans Decide Healthcare's amendment. Rick Weiland of Dakotans 4 Health said, "In the interest of the 42,500 hard working low-income South Dakotans who struggle every day just to keep a roof over their head and food on the table, we have decided to unite behind one constitutional amendment, and we will continue to collect signatures to place our Medicaid initiated law on the November 2022 ballot. The last thing we need is to have two proposed constitutional amendments on the November 2022 ballot. We will continue petitioning for our initiated law giving voters the opportunity to pass both an amendment to the state’s constitution and a law next year."[21]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 South Dakota Secretary of State, "Potential 2022 Ballot Questions," accessed November 16, 2020
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 South Dakota Secretary of State, "Medicaid expansion initiative full text," accessed November 16, 2020
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source. Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "quotedisclaimer" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ Dakotans 4 Health, "Home," accessed November 16, 2020
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Dakotans for Health, "Medicaid Expansion Group Hires Former SDDP Executive Director as Grassroots Organizor," accessed March 4, 2021
- ↑ Dakotans for Health, "Building Trades will Build Back Better with Dakotans for Health," accessed March 25, 2021
- ↑ Dakotans for Health, "Teamsters join Dakotans for Health's campaign to expand Medicaid," accessed March 25, 2021
- ↑ Dakotans for Health, "UFCW backs grassroots effort to expand Medicaid," accessed March 25, 2021
- ↑ Dakotans for Health, "IBEW 'charged' to support Dakotans for Health Medicaid expansion campaign," accessed March 25, 2021
- ↑ Dakotans4Health, "AFL-CIO backs grassroots organizers seeking to expand Medicaid," accessed June 2, 2021
- ↑ Dakotans4Health, "Great Plains Tribal Chairmen's Association Endorses Dakotans for Health," accessed June 2, 2021
- ↑ New York Times, "Obama Signs Health Care Overhaul Bill, With a Flourish," accessed March 23, 2010
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Kaiser Family Foundation, "The Coverage Gap: Uninsured Poor Adults in States That Do Not Expand Medicaid Coverage," accessed October 23, 2019
- ↑ Kaiser Health News, "Consumer’s Guide to Health Reform," April 13, 2010
- ↑ Office of The Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, "Poverty Guidelines," January 25, 2016
- ↑ Kaiser Family Foundation, "A Guide to the Supreme Court’s Affordable Care Act Decision," July 2012
- ↑ Kaiser Family Foundation, "Understanding How States Access the ACA Enhanced Medicaid Match Rates," September 29, 2014
- ↑ HealthInsurance.org, "Medicaid," accessed January 10, 2020
- ↑ Keloland, "Group files lawsuit against Gov. Noem on amendment signature law," accessed April 1, 2021
- ↑ Courthouse News Service, "Petition Circulators," accessed June 16, 2021
- ↑ Kelo, "Dakotans for Health will continue to collect signatures for Medicaid expansion," accessed November 8, 2021
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