South Dakotans Decide Healthcare Delivers Petition Signatures to Expand Medicaid

Campaign Collects 46,119 Signatures to Successfully Place Medicaid Expansion Ballot Measure on 2022 Ballot

South Dakota Becomes Seventh State to Pursue a Medicaid Expansion Ballot Measure

Pierre, South Dakota – Today, the South Dakotans Decide Healthcare campaign submitted a petition, signed by 46,119 South Dakotans, to place Medicaid expansion on the ballot in 2022. South Dakota is one of 12 states that have not expanded health care coverage to more low-income adults under a key provision of the Affordable Care Act. The proposed ballot measure would expand care to cover 42,500 South Dakotans.

Medicaid expansion helps parents, farmers, near retirees, small business employees, and South Dakotans who work at jobs that don’t offer healthcare or who simply can’t afford it. They earn too much currently to qualify for Medicaid, but not enough to afford care on their own.

Medicaid expansion will help hardworking South Dakota families who are slipping through the cracks in our healthcare system and rural residents who already have to drive long distances for emergency care. Medicaid expansion will help keep rural hospitals open for when an emergency strikes and ensure that all South Dakota families have access to emergency care — regardless of where they live.

The Fairness Project instrumentally supported all of the successful ballot measures to expand Medicaid since 2017: Idaho, Maine, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Missouri, and Utah. These six Medicaid expansion victories are included in the organization’s impressive 23 of 24 win record passing ballot measures that support working families. 

Statement from Kelly Hall, Executive Director of The Fairness Project:

“South Dakotans putting Medicaid expansion on the 2022 ballot is an example of the power of common sense solutions in the face of partisan gridlock. After nearly a decade of waiting for their elected leaders to act, voters are taking matters into their own hands. The Fairness Project is proud to have supported all six successful ballot measures to expand Medicaid over the past four years, extending much-needed health coverage to over 830,000 Americans to date. We have every reason to believe South Dakota will be next on that list of victories one year from today.”

If you would like to interview Kelly Hall, Executive Director of The Fairness Project, please email Alexis Magnan-Callaway at alexis@thefairnessproject.org.

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