By Voters will decide Nov. 5 whether South Dakota should impose work requirements for residents to be eligible for expanded Medicaid benefits.
Recaps of all of seven ballot measures will be published in The Aberdeen Insider throughout October. Find information about all of the proposals at southdakotasearchlight.com. Click on the brown voter guide button at the top of the page on the right.
Amendment F would alter the South Dakota Constitution to require work requirements.
Attorney general’s explanation
The Medicaid program is funded by the state and the federal governments to provide medical coverage for certain low-income people who qualify for the program.
In 2022, South Dakota voters approved a constitutional provision that expanded Medicaid eligibility for any person over age 18 and under 65 whose income is at or below 133% of the federal poverty level, plus 5% of the federal poverty level for the applicable family size.
This constitutional amendment authorizes the state to impose work requirements on any person eligible to receive benefits under the expanded Medicaid program, except for those who are physically or mentally disabled. The amendment does not identify any specific work requirement that might be imposed on those receiving expanded Medicaid benefits. Any work requirement proposed by the state must be approved by the federal government prior to implementation.
Vote yes to adopt the amendment.
Vote no to leave the constitution as it is.
Official pro and con statements
The South Dakota Secretary of State’s Office is directed by state law to publish pro and con statements from a proponent and opponent of each ballot question.
Pro statement
Amendment F is based on the idea that social welfare programs are a hand up for people facing tough times, but should not be a way of life.
South Dakota has enacted Medicaid expansion that extends Medicaid health coverage to adults below a certain income who are 18 to 65 and not disabled.
Amendment F would allow South Dakota to consider a work requirement for working-age, able-bodied adults who want to enroll in Medicaid expansion.
By voting yes, we can fix the current language, which prohibits South Dakota from even considering a work requirement.
Our welfare programs should care for those who can’t care for themselves — the elderly, the young and the disabled. Amendment F allows the state to require able-bodied, working-aged people who enroll in Medicaid to work or go to school, to support themselves and their families.
If Amendment F passes, a work requirement will still require approval from the federal government and from the state legislature. This will allow for reasonable exceptions to the work requirement, like for parents of young children, students, those with serious health issues or those looking for work.
Tony Venhuizen, state representative, District 13
Con statement
Voters approved Medicaid expansion to provide health coverage to thousands of South Dakotans, and Amendment F will take away that health coverage for some of those residents.
What Medicaid expansion means for people in the gap — those with low incomes who can’t get insurance through their jobs and who can’t afford insurance on their own because the costs are so high — is that they are no longer forced to choose between medical care or rent, food, childcare and other necessities. It also means that if they are too sick to work, they do not automatically lose access to care.
I learned how easily life gets turned upside down by a lack of coverage when I was diagnosed with cancer while building a small business. I didn’t have insurance, and it was a life-changing, scary experience nobody should have to endure.
If Amendment F is approved, South Dakotans who are employed and doing all they can to support themselves and their families will lose healthcare coverage. We know from other states that have taken similar approaches that some will simply get lost in a blizzard of paperwork, putting government bureaucrats between patients and their doctor. Others will have to stop working because they get sick, risking losing coverage when they need it most.
Medicaid needs to stay in place as it was approved by the voters.
Sarah Graves, nursing student and volunteer with the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network