The issue of healthcare is on the line for some once more in this year’s election on Nov. 5.
In 2022, South Dakota voters passed the expansion of Medicaid to lower-income individuals aged 18-65. Now, select state Republican lawmakers want to impose work requirements for those who do not qualify as “physically or mentally disabled,” referred to as Amendment F or Senate Joint Resolution 501 .
Medicaid is funded federally and by the state. Unlike Medicare, which provides health care for older adults, Medicaid acts as an insurance company for those who meet certain requirements , potentially covering doctor visits, family planning, seeing a dentist or an optometrist and chiropractic care.
If the amendment passes, the State will be able to establish work requirements for those covered by the Medicaid expansion that went into effect in July last year. All proposed work requirements would also have to be approved by the federal government before going into effect.
That 2022 vote to expand Medicaid included extending the program to lower-income individuals ages 18-65 who are at or below 1 33% of the federal poverty level, plus 5% of the federal poverty level for families who exceed eight people. That amounts to about $15,060 a year for one person, $20,440 for two people and up to $52,720 per year for a family of eight, according to the 2024 Poverty Guidelines for the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) .