Sister Ruth Gereats took the mic at Saturday’s Aberdeen crackerbarrel to ask where Medicaid expansion stands.
Rep. Al Novstrup (R-3/Aberdeen) says he’s gotten conflicting reports on how well South Dakota’s negotiations with the feds are proceeding on Governor Dennis Daugaard’s novel proposal to free up state dollars for Medicaid expansion by shifting Native American patients in South Dakota entirely to Indian Health Service coverage.
Rep. Novstrup said that 150 years of broken treaty promises leave him skeptical that we can count on the federal government to effectively expand Indian Health Service and free up the cash we need to get the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion for free (better than free: remember that the Governor’s funky IHS/Medicaid trade-off produces net savings for South Dakota of $158 million in the first five years and $10 million each year after). He said the health care situation on the reservation is a “disaster” and Indians as fellow human beings are entitled to health care.
Rep. Novstrup needs to go hang out with Governor Daugaard more and learn to trust the federal government again (as we have for decades on funding for education, roads, Ellsworth Air Force Base…). He also needs to express his frustration with the feds’ failure to live up to our treaty obligations to Senator John Thune and Rep. Kristi Noem about putting our money where their mouth is and fully funding IHS.
And if our failure to uphold treaty obligations with our Lakota brothers and sisters is Rep. Novstrup’s only hang-up about Medicaid expansion, then let’s un-hang him by giving up the Governor’s complicated plan, skipping IHS altogether, and funding both Medicaid expansion and the Blue Ribbon t eacher pay raises by ending just 13% of our state sales tax exemptions.
Possibly Related: Some Indians aren’t holding our treaty violations against us forked-tongued devils. The Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe is pledging $50,000 to help the Flandreau public schools raise teacher pay. Let’s see… 52.8 instructional staff… that’s not quite $950 per teacher. But that’s $950 more from our Indian neighbors than our legislators have been able to appropriate for better teacher pay so far this Legislative Session. Dang: Uncle Sam doesn’t uphold treaties with Indians, legislators don’t uphold their constitutional obligation to maintain a public school system… when Rep. Novstrup speaks of government not keeping promises, he seems to know whereof he speaks.
The question is: What South Dakota legislators have ever advocated honoring the treaties? Those who have were quickly elected out of office.
http://www.firstpeople.us/FP-Html-Treaties/TreatyWithTheSiouxBruleOglalaMiniconjouYanktonaiHunkpapaBlackfeetCutheadTwoKettleSansArcsSanteeAndArapaho1868.html
Medicaid Expansion has nothing to do with treaty rights and everything to do with equality. Native Americans should be entitled to go wherever they choose for healthcare.
Daugaard needs to leave funding for IHS alone, they have enough problem making do with what they have.
Novstrup’s admission that healthcare on reservations is a disaster should be all the more reason for Daugaard to enact Medicaid Expansion immediately.
If South Dakota state government had any vision, they could possibly get some real financial gain from Medicaid Expansion on reservations by perhaps totally eliminating IHS and provide adequate healthcare.
Here’s one more reason the SDGOP should do the Medicaid Expansion.
Think Gear Up and EB-5 and how there would be millions of dollars available to be corrupted and fill the pockets of legislators, lobbyists, advertisers, and consultants.
Medicaid Expansion is a gold mine for shady dealings.
Has anyone ever met anyone stupider than a Greenfield?
David, I agree that I’d like to see a more consistent advocacy of treaty rights from Rep. Novstrup and the rest of his party. His invocation of such concerns seems conveniently adopted for this specific issue.
Roger, now you’re thinking like a Republican! ;-)
Daugaard’s plan has a fatal flaw. Moving care to the IHS is crazy when they are already facing closed emergency departments and disastrous funding.
Due to the latest ED closure in Rosebud, ambulances have been taking people to off-reservation hospitals with 1+ hour round trips, leaving the entire reservation, with extremely high health care needs, without ambulance coverage. ( http://www.kdlt.com/news/local-news/thune-indian-health-service-hospital-problems-life-and-death-issues/37981440 http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2016/02/10/senator-alleges-malpractice-ihs-hospitals-163367 )
Daugaard’s plan may have some merit, but not until they have sufficient health care capacity. Right now, it is putting the chicken before the egg.
MD – I think you misread the plan. Daugaard has no intention to push eligible Native Americans to IHS. The key fact is that some Natives sometimes receive health care services at non-IHS facilities. When those people are Medicaid-eligible, the state must pay its share of that cost. The plan is to have IHS (or other federal entity) pay 100% of those costs when eligible Native Americans receive treaty-mandated health care services regardless of where that care is provided. Relieving the state of that cost obligation would free up funds the state could use to expand Medicaid.
“Roger, now you’re thinking like a Republican!”
But only the liberal version, kissing cousins to the Democrats. Remember Gear-up is part of the Democratic education and Indian special interest side of the Hegelian divide.
The Hegelian Divide is just north of Big Stone City, right?
Cabela’s is going under, Steve.
Steve is in full cover-up mode, blame the Democrats for creating a program that republicans can corrupt
What rock did this Al Novstrup crawl out from under and can we do something to put this guy back .. or at least cement the hole to make sure no more like him comes out
Donal, multiple sources have told me that Al Novstrup will run for Senate instead of House, to spare his son David, the current Senator, the challenge of running against me. If that happens, you can do something to put this guy back under his rock: contribute to my Senate campaign! The following link takes you to my online contribution page:
https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/coryforsd
Even if Al runs for reëlection to House, send some money, and I’ll make sure his opponent gets some help.
by hinging medicaid expansion on IHS, where that has occurred nowhere else in the US I suspect, makes me wonder what daugaard is really up to??
He’s trying to get something for nothing, plain and simple. Remember, the Medicaid/IHS trade isn’t just revenue-neutral; it cuts overall state spending at the expense of Uncle Sam.
It might be a good idea for the national Congressional GOP delegation and our state GOP people to get their poop in a group before they put their happy horse sh@t out there … Reading this entire thread is a terrible joke. A state GOP House Rep lamenting that the federal government has a history of treaty abrogation when his entire people and life and political party and state and (probably even) church made it that way! Our GOP congressional delegation institutes sequester to severely cut federal funding (to funnel to rich 1%ers…the “job creators”), significantly cut federal contracts to NDN country, then cut the IHS budget even further in their next budget. Then run their minions out to publicly decry the conditions at IHS and that the poor, poor NDNs are receiving inferior care….They exude (false) outrage. (Meanwhile, horrible stories surface about patients being abandoned in Valentine, NE, and told to walk their happy asses home to the rez and our GOP’ers in power do ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!) I mean, what is wrong with you people? Then fight Medicaid expansion. These people are either crazy or evil or insanely insatiably greedy or stupidly outrageously dumb! I worry about you if you think we in NDN country buy any of this hogwash and, along those lines, I don’t know who you think you’re trying to kid! SD legislature is fully of stinky (literally) clowns.