Hands Off Medicaid – South Dakota

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Hands Off Medicaid - South Dakota

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147,000 South Dakotans Rely on Medicaid. A New Budget Puts Them — and Our Health Care System — at Risk.

“Hands Off Medicaid” Coalition Launches to Fight Devastating Cuts That Threaten Access to Lifesaving Care Across South Dakota

May 29, 2025

Sioux Falls, SD — A new grassroots coalition of health care professionals, patient advocates, rural leaders, and small business owners from across the state is launching Hands Off Medicaid – South Dakota to oppose proposed federal cuts to Medicaid and ACA subsidies.

The coalition will officially launch during a virtual press event on Thursday, May 29 at 10:00 AM CT, where speakers will share how these cuts threaten access to care for over 147,000 South Dakotans who currently rely on Medicaid — including seniors, children, people with disabilities, farmers, and working families.

Former State Representative Ben Hanson, who is Head of Government Affairs for the American Cancer Society – South Dakota, will serve as co-chair of the coalition. He will be joined by leading voices from across South Dakota’s health care landscape — including doctors, nurses, patients, rural providers, and public health advocates.

Frontline organizations like the American Cancer Society and the Community HealthCare Association of the Dakotas participated in the coalition’s kickoff event, which marked the beginning of a broader campaign. Over the coming months, the coalition will announce additional co-chairs and partners — including faith leaders, small business owners, farmers, patients, and healthcare providers — united in the fight to protect access to care. Speakers at the launch included Shelley Ten Napel, CEO of the Community HealthCare Association of the Dakotas; Dr. Tom Dean, a longtime rural physician; and Earl Pomeroy, former North Dakota Congressman and Insurance Commissioner.

The coalition formed after the US House of Representatives passed a budget with draconian cuts that will decimate South Dakota’s rural healthcare systems — jeopardizing the health and stability of the 147,000 residents who rely on Medicaid and the communities they call home.

This is a critical moment for South Dakota. Congress is considering a budget deal that would rip coverage from tens of thousands, gut rural hospital funding, and threaten mental health and addiction services across the state.

Quotes:

Ben Hanson, American Cancer Society – South Dakota:

“The bill passed in the U.S. House is nothing short of a gutting of South Dakota’s Medicaid infrastructure. Every one of the 147,000 South Dakotans who rely on Medicaid — including children, seniors, people with disabilities, and workers — will be impacted by these cuts as will the communities in which they live. For almost 27,000 of them, it means losing coverage entirely. For the rest of us, it means longer wait times, fewer providers, and more barriers to care.”

Shelley Ten Napel, CEO, Community HealthCare Association of the Dakotas:

“The cuts to Medicaid and the planned reduction in tax credits for those purchasing private coverage on the Marketplace take us in the wrong direction from a coverage perspective. We do need to have a national conversation about health care affordability and cost, but it cannot start with reducing access to care for the most vulnerable.

The proposed cuts will be especially impactful in South Dakota’s rural communities. Rural residents are less likely to be offered employer-sponsored coverage because they are more likely to be self-employed or to work for a small business. They are more likely to do seasonal work and part-time work. When coverage rates fall, that directly impacts the financial viability of rural community health centers, threatening access to local primary care, dental care, and behavioral health services for everyone who lives in those communities.

For a better picture of the ways Medicaid and Marketplace coverage matter in the lives of individuals and families, check out our Medicaid Matters to Me campaign. Hearing directly from people whose lives have been changed and literally saved by health coverage helps us all understand what is at stake.”

Dr. Tom Dean, rural physician and public health advocate:

“Medicaid is a major source of health care coverage in South Dakota — not just for the most vulnerable, but for people of every age and stage of life. It is a key source of revenue for our nursing homes, including Weskota Manor in Wessington Springs, where I serve on the board. It also covers thousands of expecting mothers and their children, ensuring access to vital prenatal and postpartum care. It helps working families who are juggling multiple jobs just to make ends meet.

Kicking people off Medicaid is a de facto tax increase, forcing them to either pay for costly private insurance or go without coverage entirely. We all have health needs — and when people delay care, they get sicker, treatment becomes more expensive, and the outcomes are worse.

South Dakotans need to understand just how much is at stake. This isn’t just a policy fight — it’s a fight for our families, our communities, and the health care systems we all depend on.”

Earl Pomeroy, former U.S. Congressman and ND Insurance Commissioner:

“The bill before Congress represents a complete surrender on the goal of helping more families obtain health coverage. Within the last 20 years leaders in both political parties have worked to expand coverage. President Bush led the effort to cover prescription drugs in Medicare. President Obama initiated the Affordable Care Act, ultimately covering millions of Americans unable to get insurance before this bill. This is why South Dakota voters recently voted to expand Medicaid coverage. Now, however, President Trump and the Republican dominated Congress appear comfortable stripping this hard-won insurance away. This impacts people’s access to care, devastates the incomes of those who will lose coverage, and threatens the very existence of rural hospitals who are already on the knife’s edge and cannot continue if their patients are increasingly uninsured.”

Check out the Fact Sheet

About Hands Off Medicaid – South Dakota:

Hands Off Medicaid – South Dakota is a coalition of patients, providers, public health experts, medical professionals, small business owners, farmers, and community stakeholders united in opposition to proposed Medicaid and ACA subsidy cuts that would hurt South Dakota families and communities.

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