South Dakota voters will decide medicaid expansion question in November

PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — A proposal to expand Medicaid eligibility in South Dakota will appear on the November ballot.

The secretary of state’s office announced Monday that Constitutional Amendment D was validated after an estimated 38,244 people signed petitions to put in on the ballot. That was well above the level needed.

Medicaid is a federal-state health insurance program for low-income people. South Dakota is one of 12 states that has not accepted federal incentives to expand Medicaid eligibility, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

If voters approve, the program would be made available to 42,500 additional South Dakotans in its first year, according to the nonpartisan Legislative Research Council.