South Dakota lawmakers introduce bill to create Medicaid expansion fund
Correction: A previous version of this article listed a projected total cost of Medicaid expansion in South Dakota as "more than $1.5 trillion." This has since been corrected to read "more than $1.5 billion."
A new bill added to the legislative hopper looks to at least partially cover South Dakota's share of the voter-approved Medicaid expansion.
On Thursday, legislators introduced Senate Bill 149, which would create a Medicaid expansion fund within the state treasury. It would also authorize State Treasurer Josh Haeder to appropriate $53,694,084 from the state's general fund into the newly-created pool.
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Republican Sens. Jean Hunhoff, Bryan Breitling, Lee Schoenbeck and Rep. Mike Derby introduced the bill.
The money being allocated in the legislation comes from federal dollars within the American Rescue Plan Act. An expected 90% of the cost of Medicaid expansion will be funded by the federal government, while the state will cover the remaining 10%.
The Department of Social Services projects 57,530 people to apply for Medicaid under the expanded eligibility with an annual cost of $10,064 per person, according to a budget overview presented to the Joint Committee on Appropriations on Jan. 17. The department estimates Medicaid expansion to cost the state $66,385,019 in fiscal year 2024.
A June 2021 fiscal note from the South Dakota Legislative Research Council estimated the total cost of Medicaid expansion at more than $1.5 billion, with more than $166 million making up the state's share over a five-year period.
This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: South Dakota lawmakers introduce bill to create Medicaid expansion fund
