The process of expanding eligibility for South Dakota’s Medicaid program is underway, with less than seven months until the voter-approved constitutional amendment takes effect July 1. Governor Kristi Noem’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2024 includes increased funds and full-time staff positions to account for additional Medicaid users following voter approval of Medicaid expansion in November’s election. The state estimates about 52,000 residents could now be eligible for health care coverage. Medicaid expansion will impact several state departments, but the Department of Social Services will see the biggest changes.
The governor’s proposed budget and its legislative approval are only the beginning of the process, though. Because Medicaid is a partnership between the state and federal government, the state needs to submit any changes in eligibility to the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services by March 1. Some amendments to the state plan are available on the Department of Social Services website now, with more likely to come in the next few weeks. The public comment period for the state plan amendments ends on February 7.
Communicating the next steps and connecting with prospective Medicaid recipients is going to be a challenge in the coming months. During a recent presentation from the Department of Social Services, a lawmaker asked about plans to market the new qualifications.
“We don’t have a marketing campaign, per se, planned independently,” said DSS Deputy Secretary Brenda Tidball-Zeltinger. She said uninsured people can be made aware of their eligibility when they eventually receive healthcare, or while working with other state social programs.
There’s no plan yet for a targeted state-sponsored outreach program for the thousands of newly eligible people, but advocacy organizations are likely to communicate to their specific audiences. Jill Franken is the state volunteer president with AARP South Dakota, another organization that supported the constitutional amendment. According to Franken, AARP South Dakota supported the amendment because up to 7,000 of the prospective Medicaid recipients are over the age of 50.
“An important role that AARP and others in the coalition will be able to play is helping to inform folks in our state that this is now something they need to take advantage of,” Franken said. “That communication, public communication is going to be really important.”
Franken suggests keeping in touch with a primary care provider for individualized updates on Medicaid expansion. Matthew McLarty with the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, another organization that supports Medicaid expansion, says the state Department of Social Services website is a good source for information as well. Like AARP, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network is following the process and advocating for the population it serves.
“What we found is that when people have access to insurance or a Medicaid type system, they’re more likely to visit their doctor,” McLarty says. “They’re more likely to have access to cancer screenings, diagnostic tests, items like that. I mean, in the next year, we will lose over 1,700 South Dakotans to cancer. And we want to make sure that we get that number way down to the point where it’s negligible.”
