Jamison: Set Politics Aside, Expand Medicaid for Practical Good

Representative Greg Jamison (R-12/Sioux Falls) is rejecting Senator Lee Schonebeck’s (R-5/Lake Kampeska) political distractions on Amendment D and saying voters should expand Medicaid:

The Legislature has fought Medicaid expansion since the inception of the Affordable Care Act, but at some point the needs and requests for help change the reality, said Rep. Greg Jamison, R-Sioux Falls.

“My guess is that the voters will approve it,” Jamison said. “I didn’t want to do it. There are good reasons to say no politically. But practically, after hearing all the explanations and requests, it seems like it’s time” [Patrick Lalley, “Medicaid Gap Population Growing in South Dakota,” Mitchell Republic, 2022.08.11].

Representative Jamison says expanding Medicaid can be part of that pro-mom agenda that Governor Noem said something about earlier this year but then forgot amidst her busy book tour and Presidential campaign schedule:

The other shift in the debate is the Supreme Court’s decision to give the states authority to regulate abortion. Raising the bar to 138% will give low-income women access to health care they may not have otherwise, he said.

“There’s talk of finding ways to help those women through the pregnancy,” he said. “I think that makes sense, and most people can support to justify the reason for expansion” [Lalley, 2022.08.11].

Nine Republican Senators voted for Medicaid expansion last winter; hearing Representative Jamison and other Republican legislators speak up now for Amendment D may help voters realize that expanding Medicaid is more important than clinging to political grudges; it’s about making good use of our tax dollars to save lives and save money.