Post by Logan on Jun 22, 2016 2:57:33 GMT -6
A race is on to court legislators in the "maybe" column on Medicaid expansion.
Gov. Dennis Daugaard's office needs to convince 54 legislators — 36 in the House and 18 in the Senate — to back his plan to expand the health insurance program to cover an additional 50,000 needy South Dakotans.
It won't be easy.
A faction of conservative Republicans in each chamber is poised to sink the deal and the prospect of a special session unless Daugaard can unite Democrats, moderate Republicans and a handful of conservatives who want to leverage Medicaid expansion to improve Native American health care.
The Republican governor has done it before, pushing through the first permanent sales tax hike in decades last session to boost teacher pay. But swaying fellow GOP lawmakers on the expansion of a federal health care program associated with the Obama administration will be a tougher fight.
Read more: www.argusleader.com/story/news/2016/06/18/fighting-maybe-vote-medicaid-expansion/86029450/
Gov. Dennis Daugaard's office needs to convince 54 legislators — 36 in the House and 18 in the Senate — to back his plan to expand the health insurance program to cover an additional 50,000 needy South Dakotans.
It won't be easy.
A faction of conservative Republicans in each chamber is poised to sink the deal and the prospect of a special session unless Daugaard can unite Democrats, moderate Republicans and a handful of conservatives who want to leverage Medicaid expansion to improve Native American health care.
The Republican governor has done it before, pushing through the first permanent sales tax hike in decades last session to boost teacher pay. But swaying fellow GOP lawmakers on the expansion of a federal health care program associated with the Obama administration will be a tougher fight.
Read more: www.argusleader.com/story/news/2016/06/18/fighting-maybe-vote-medicaid-expansion/86029450/