The state authorized 68 FTEs and $12.7 million in additional funding to help the Department of Social Services handle the possible 52,000 new enrollees in Medicaid made possible by the voters’ wise expansion of Medicaid in November 2022 election. The DSS statistical dashboard indicates that enrollment in expanded Medicaid has reached about a fifth of that projected 52K:
DSS Secretary Matt Althoff gave slightly higher numbers to the Board of Social Services this week and upped the estimate of eventual enrollees to 57,000:
Cabinet Secretary Matt Althoff told the state Board of Social Services on Tuesday that the program was funded for this first year to handle up to as many as 57,000 new adult enrollees, as eligibility expanded from 100% to 138% of the federal poverty level. For a one-person household, the maximum income to qualify is currently $1,677 a month.
So far, applications have flowed steadily into DSS offices but there’s been no flood.
“I’m really grateful they didn’t all show up on July first,” Althoff said, referring to the 57,000. “We’re far short of that.” He said the the expanded-eligibility group was 11,000 to 12,000. “But,” he added, “steadily increasing every week.”
…Althoff said he spoke about the situation of enrollment being one-fifth of projections Tuesday morning with the state Bureau of Finance and Management and said other states that went through eligibility expansion have suggested South Dakota wait on downsizing any projections, because they eventually reached the estimates in their states.
“It is way, way, way too early to abandon ship on our 57,000,” he said [Bob Mercer, “A Gradual Rise, Not a Flood, from Medicaid Expansion,” KELO-TV, updated 2023.10.18].
Expansion advocates aren’t surprised:
Tim Rave is the president of the South Dakota Association of Healthcare Organizations. He’s not concerned.
“It’s actually tracking with the studies that we’ve seen showing how implementation would go,” he said. “We knew from the start that it would take a year or two to get to the numbers we expect.”
…“It doesn’t happen overnight,” said Rick Weiland with Dakotans for Health. “Sure, you’d hope it would be higher. Sometimes it’s hard to find them to let them know they are eligible” [Joshua Haiar, “Advocates Express Patience as Medicaid Expansion Enrollments Trail Projections,” South Dakota Searchlight, 2023.10.19].
As Althoff’s deputy Brenda Tidball-Zeltinger indicated during Tuesday’s meeting, folks don’t rush out to sign up for Medicaid just for kicks. They mostly wait until they get sick or have an appointment, need to come up with payment, and learn they qualify for expanded Medicaid.
So be patient—those patients will come, and we’ll see Medicaid helping even more South Dakotans get healthy and stay healthy.
How do these bean counters know how many indigents will eventually come out of the woodwork? They are just making it up and we probably spent millions for a problem that really didn’t exist.
Will bankrupt the state in 10 years
I’m ashamed of grudznick and Mike. Where is that “right to life” vigor? I would think your lot would be out on the streets carrying signs to profess this avenue to save god-given, precious lives.
What is there tostopomNoem from using covid relief funds to fund Southern Mississippi’s share of the medicaid expansion and therefore not use tax dollars from in state?
A couple of years ago we were talking to an old acquaintance about her medical problems. She was living with her daughter and trying to get on medicaid. We suggested she look into affordable care since our experience was positive. She absolutely exploded, saying that there is no way she would have anything to do with that ni****. Well, her medical problems got bigger and she had problems finding health care doctors that would see her. Her stubborness eventually killed her. I wonder how many more out there are like her.
grudz – simple – IRS and census data is freely available online for making the determination of how many would be eligible. Takes 5 minutes – not millions of $$.
Zit – indigent care services cost(ed) the state more.
I’ve noticed:
In ten years grudznick hasn’t posted even one fact with valid documentation. Only opinions. There’s nothing wrong with opinions of course but they’re not facts.
There are a lot of people in South Dakota who never go to the Doctor and who take a lot of pride in that record. I knew an old cowboy who had a rotten tooth, his face swelled up and he was miserable. He heated up a piece of baling wire until it was red hot and stuck it into his tooth. Nothing for the pain. He was bent over, spitting out blood and gore, and said, “That saved me $500 I don’t have.” He was a man who would receive accolades from our friend Grudznick.
Mike, I would also note that if the only care is unreimbursed emergency care is what the indigent rely on, those costs are passed on to YOU. Hospitals do not eat losses; at the end of the day, there will always be more black ink than red.
Join My Cause @ https://www.siouxfallscommunitychronicle.com/sign-petition
Yes, socialized agriculture, socialized dairies, socialized cheese, socialized livestock production, a socialized timber industry, socialized air service, socialized freight rail, a socialized nursing home industry, socialized water systems and now a socialized internet are all fine with Republicans in South Dakota but then they insist single-payer medical insurance is socialized medicine.
There is a growing movement among Democrats and others to fund Medicare for all but I like the idea of rolling the funding for Obamacare, TriCare, Medicare, the Indian Health Service and the VHA together then offering Medicaid for all by increasing the estate tax, raising taxes on tobacco and adopting a carbon tax.
Join my cause.
Can’t cut enough socialized cheese!
Mr. Epp–I’ve got no problem with welfare cheese. It is great cheese. After all, the first thing Trump did when he got elected was write everyone in the USA a check for $1,000. If that’s not socialism……what is?
Cheese is good no matter the source.