(The Center Square) – The South Dakota House of Representatives will consider a resolution to give voters a say in whether nondisabled Medicaid recipients should work.
Voters agreed to expand Medicaid in 2022 to nondisabled individuals between the ages of 18 and 64. The change allows individuals and families who make up to 138% of the federal poverty level to receive the health care plan.
Senate Joint Resolution 501 does not authorize the expansion but lets voters decide, said Rep. Tony Venhuizen, R-Sioux Falls, one of the prime sponsors.
“We’re honoring the will of the voters because we are going back to the voters and asking what I view as a clarifying question, not to reverse their decision from last time but to clarify on a particular detail,” Venhuizen told the Senate State Affairs Committee this week. “Is this something we should be able to consider?”
The work requirement could only be imposed if the federal government allows it and would only affect people deemed medically fit to work. Exceptions would include parents caring for young children or someone who has cancer and is unable to work, Venhuizen said.