SD lawmakers consider work requirement for non-disabled Medicaid recipients

January 25, 2024

PIERRE, S.D.–South Dakota lawmakers are considering a state constitutional amendment clarifying whether low-income people could work and still receive Medicaid benefits.

The 2022 state constitutional amendment expanded Medicaid but did not include a work requirement for non-disabled people.

Republican Representative Tony Venhuizen sponsored the resolution, arguing that it would give South Dakota flexibility to implement a work requirement in the future.

Opponents of the resolution argued that voters were aware of the details of the Medicaid expansion when they voted in 2022.

The resolution passed the Senate State Affairs Committee on a 7-1 vote and now moves to the Senate floor.

If passed by the legislature, the resolution would put the issue on the 2024 ballot for voters to decide.