South Dakota Medicaid Proposal Would Also Boost Native American Care

PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — South Dakota's early proposal to expand Medicaid also focuses on improving access to care for the state's large Native American population.

The Health Care Solutions Coalition met Wednesday in Pierre.

The panel is discussing in part the proposal's impact on Native Americans, who make up nearly 9 percent of the state's population. Medicaid is a health coverage program for low-income and disabled people.

Jerilyn Church is chief executive of the Great Plains Tribal Chairmen's Health Board. She says the plan to help fund the state's share of Medicaid expansion would also benefit the health and access to care of tribal members.

Kim Malsam-Rysdon is a senior adviser to Governor Dennis Daugaard . She says the proposal will need a broad array of support from tribes and the federal government.

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