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Members

State Advocacy

The South Dakota Association of Healthcare Organizations (SDAHO) strives to support its members through advocacy efforts at the local, state and federal level by providing one unified voice in sustaining and enhancing access to community-focused health services across the continuum of care. The South Dakota legislature is in session each year during the months of January, February and March where our team of lobbyists and support staff actively monitor legislation that could have an impact on South Dakota health care providers including hospitals, health systems, nursing homes, home health, hospice, assisted living and palliative care. It is our priority to build relationships with our law makers to keep them educated on our issues and frequently engage members to form health care policy in our state. We also maintain a positive working relationship with the state department of health, the department of social services and department of human services to assist members with regulatory compliance and facilitate conversations to advance process improvement and innovation. 

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2024 Ballot Measures

SDAHO 2024 Ballot Measure Webinar, Recorded Oct. 28, 2024

Legislative Update Podcast

Each week during the legislative session the SDAHO advocacy team will provide a weekly podcast update. Click the yellow button for the most recent podcast. To listen to past podcasts, click here .

Listen Here
2024 Bill Tracker
Find My Legislator
How to Get Involved

State Priority Areas

The mission of our members and our organization is advancing the health of communities in South Dakota. Our vision is for a healthier South Dakota, where every person reaches their highest potential for health. SDAHO supports policy and efforts to advance the health of our communities across the healthcare continuum.
Over 30,000 South Dakotans depend on the federal marketplace for coverage and 125,000 South Dakotans access coverage through Medicaid or CHIP. While the passage of Medicaid Expansion has helped thousands of South Dakotans obtain coverage, SDAHO supports access to affordable health care for all South Dakotans by ensuring adequate funding for state healthcare programs.
SDAHO aims to ensure South Dakotans can access health care when and where they need it in rural and frontier communities by strengthening our workforce.
South Dakota is a leader in telehealth innovation. SDAHO supports expanding telehealth and other health technology utilization by ensuring payment policies that incentivize innovation and ensure parity in payment.
Burdensome regulations for hospitals and health systems divert resources away from patient care. SDAHO supports policies that reduce administrative burdens and allow healthcare providers to focus on what matters most – caring for patients.
South Dakota healthcare providers strive to provide quality, safe, and effective care to patients. SDAHO advocates for a focus on measures that matter, so our providers can continue improving health outcomes while reducing the burden of reporting.
South Dakota Medicaid is a federal and state-funded program providing health coverage for people who meet certain eligibility standards. Medicaid funding is critical to the sustainability of our healthcare programs and services. SDAHO works closely with state departments and legislative appropriators to update methodology and ensure adequate funding. 

Resources

Advancing Advocacy

SDAHO works collaboratively throughout the year with members, legislators, state agencies, and other associations to ensure positive outcomes that support our state priorities during the legislative session in Pierre.

  • Medicaid Rate Increases: The legislature appropriated a 4% increase for all Medicaid providers with additional targeted rate increases to take all community-based providers to 98% of methodology, including nursing homes, assisted living, and in-home services. This was a total of 13.3 million dollars more for these providers. They legislature also increased the Medicaid personal needs allowance from 60 dollars to 100 dollars, a recommendation from the Long-Term Care Summer Study. 
  • Increased Medicaid Expansion Funding: The legislature also appropriated over 200 million dollars in total funds to Medicaid Expansion. This is due to an ongoing increase of over 20 million general fund dollars that can be leveraged at the 90/10 match between the State and Federal Governments.  
  • Secured One-Time Funding for Long Term Care: Senate Bill 80 and Senate Bill 209 secured additional one-time funding for long term care providers. Senate Bill 80 provides 2 million dollars for technology equipment for all long term care providers who accept Medicaid. Senate Bill 209 provides 5 million dollars in federal funding for assisted living and nursing home providers to set up or enhance their telemedicine services.   
  • Blocked Anti-Vaccine Legislation: SDAHO collaborated with other health organizations to protect vaccination requirements in South Dakota from a bill that looked to take away the power of the Department of Health to determine which vaccinations are required for school admittance.  
  • Supported Healthcare Compacts: Several new licensure compacts were created, including professional counselors, advance practice registered nurses, social workers, and psychologists. 
  • Expanded Scope for Ground Transportation Air Ambulance Operators: SDAHO sponsored a bill to allow authorization for the ground ambulance component of an air ambulance operator to transport patients between healthcare facilities. This is now allowed if the operator is unable to use the air ambulance due to mechanical problems or inclement weather conditions. 
  • Addressed Discriminatory Acts against 340B Entities: The legislature passed a House Bill 1147 , which authorizes a payor, 340B entity, or pharmacy to seek civil damages for discriminatory practices by pharmacy benefit managers. This bill also allows the Division of Insurance to suspend or revoke the license/registration of a pharmacy benefit manager if it is found they have discriminated against a 340B entity or violate the Unfair Trade Practice Act. 
  • 2024 bill tracker
  • Medicaid Rate Increases: The legislature appropriated a 5% increase for all Medicaid providers with additional targeted rate increases to take all community-based providers to 100% of methodology, including nursing homes, assisted living, and in-home services. For nursing homes, this meant a 49 million dollar increase and fully funding the new nursing home rate methodology.
  • Blocked Anti-Vaccine Legislation: SDAHO collaborated with other health organizations to protect vaccination requirements in South Dakota from two bills aimed at degrading vaccination requirements for school entry, including one for philosophical beliefs.
  • Long Term Care Summer Study: SDAHO, in partnership with key healthcare legislators, emphasized the need for a summer study focused on the long-term care model in South Dakota. SDAHO staff were able to provide valuable input through focused work groups and to the summer study committee.
  • Blocked Visitation Requirements: SDAHO worked to defeat a bill that would have created new requirements related to visitation policies at healthcare facilities because of federal policies enacted during the pandemic. This could have created issues with healthcare providers being compliant with federal policies in the event of any future public health emergencies.
  • Expansion of Adult Day Services: The legislature passed a House Bill 1078 that appropriated 2 million dollars in one-time funding to provide grants to support the development and expansion of adult day services and programs that serve adults living with dementia, or symptoms in alignment with dementia.
  • 2023 Bill Tracker
  • Legislative Impacts
  • 2022 Forum Presentation
  • Medicaid Rate Increases: When state-lawmakers wrapped up the general session on March 10, they approved a 6% increase for Medicaid reimbursement rates and $10.2 million in one-time general funds for nursing homes. However, as lawmakers returned to Pierre for VETO Day, SDAHO and the Department of Human Services worked with them to utilize a federal match to bring the total to $30 million, equating to a 20.3% ONE-TIME funding increase. The $30 million was used for a temporary increase on the FY22 base rate. The 6% increase to all Medicaid providers was in addition to targeted rate increases to take all community-based providers to 100% of methodology, which took effect July 1, 2022.
  • Medical Marijuana: Medical Cannabis was a hot topic in the 2022 legislative session, with 40 bills regarding Medical Cannabis and 27 that the SDAHO advocacy team followed. SDAHO advocated for bills that allow advance practice professionals to certify patients, strengthen the bona fide patient practitioner relationship, included protections for licensed healthcare workers engaging in medical cannabis to do so without fear of repercussion, and removed language that would have forced physicians to prescribe the number of plants a patient should grow.
  • Workforce Support: SDAHO was a strong advocate during the 2022 legislative session for the expansion of healthcare professional training facilities, including the West River Health Sciences Center, Northern State University’s accelerated nursing program, and Southeast Technical College’s new Healthcare Simulation Center. Additionally, SDAHO advocated for bills that established compact license privileges for Physical Therapists and Physical Therapist Assistants, streamlined the licensure process for optometrists, and allows advanced life support personnel, such as an emergency medical technician, to work with patients in more than just emergency situations.
  • Rural Emergency Hospital Designation: South Dakota was one of the first three states in the nation to add Rural Emergency Hospital as a licensure type. This has made it possible for any eligible South Dakota Hospital to pursue the new Centers for Medicare and Medicaid designation, another option for rural hospitals to consider.
  • Vaccination: SDAHO collaborated with other health organizations to protect vaccination practice in South Dakota from nine anti-vaccine bills, which ranged from issues dealing with COVID vaccinations to allowing medical practice based on conscious.
  • 2022 Bill Tracker
  • Crisis in Care
  • Medicaid FMAP in South Dakota
  • SNF Rate Methodology
  • Post-Acute Care in South Dakota
  • Conscience Protections
  • Blocked Anti-Vaccine Legislation: SDAHO collaborated with other health organizations to protect vaccination in South Dakota from two bills aimed at degrading vaccination requirements for school entry and the workforce.
  • Medicaid Rate Increases: The legislature appropriated a 2.4% increase to all Medicaid providers with additional targeted rate increases to take all community-based providers to 100% of methodology. Skilled Nursing Facilities received a 9.94% increase, assisted living providers received a 9.54% increase, personal care and homemaker aides received a 10.33% increase and nursing received an 18.5% increase.
  • Blocked Conscience Clause Legislation: SDAHO worked to defeat a bill that would have protected medical practitioners, health care institutions, and health care payers from participating in or paying for health care services that violate their conscience. Conscience was too broadly defined and provided no protection for patients or employers to reasonably accommodate a conscience objection.
  • Blocked Anti-Public Health Legislation: SDAHO also worked to defeat two measures that would have restricted the ability for counties and municipalities to respond to public health threats in their communities.
  • COVID-19 Liability Relief: SDAHO collaborated with a broad coalition of legislators and organizations to pass COVID liability relief that protections healthcare facilities and professionals for actions or inactions that occurred due to COVID-19 after January 1, 2020 including the use of pharmaceuticals for an unapproved use, screening, assessing, diagnosing, caring for, or treating persons with COVID-19, as well as delays or cancelling of non-urgent care, and diagnosing or treating patients outside the normal scope of care.
  • Infrastructure Investments: The legislature passed a variety of bills aimed at improving South Dakota’s infrastructure. Two bills targeted telehealth, expanding broadband access across the state while also broadening the definition of telehealth in state statute. The legislature also passed a bill creating a Regional Nursing Facility designation and Medicaid payment methodology to incentivize the construction or significant remodel of skilled nursing facilities to address best practices in aging.
  • 2021 Bill Tracker
  • 2021 Legislative Impacts
  • 2020 Forum Presentation
  • Post-Acute Care in South Dakota
  • House Bill 1154 Legislative Brief: Healthcare Non-Compete Contracts
  • Behavioral Health: As a result of collaborative mental health studies, the legislature updated regulations in mental health to emphasize alternatives to inpatient treatment and ensure efficient and appropriate access to services related to involuntary commitments and to offer additional treatment options across the state through appropriate regional treatment facilities. The legislature also directed the expansion of 211 to provide resource information related to behavioral health and will continue to study the delivery of mental health services in South Dakota in the interim.
  • Telehealth: The legislature updated 2019 telehealth language to improve flexibility and implement prescription safeguards and funded $418,000 to evaluate the use of telehealth for mental health assessments and services in jails and crisis response for law enforcement.
  • Health Promotion and Patient Safety: The legislature revised several state statutes related to improving safety by banning texting and driving and prohibiting the sale of tobacco products to individuals under age 21. Collaborative efforts also defeated legislation that would have rescinded vaccination requirements for school entry.
  • Healthcare Recruitment, Licensure, Training, and Practice: In 2020, the legislature approved almost $1 million in general funds for healthcare provider recruitment assistance programs and passed a Compact for physical therapy to improve access to physical therapy through mutual recognition of multi-state licenses. The legislature also authorized the Board of Regents to construct an Allied Health Facility building at the University of South Dakota, promoting workforce training for South Dakota students. The legislature also authorized the construction and operation of a new 50-bed nursing facility in Moody County on the Flandreau Santee Sioux Reservation.
  • Other 2020 Legislation: South Dakota implemented a 2% inflationary increase to Medicaid rates for all providers effective July 1, 2020. Collaborative efforts also defeated harmful legislation imposing burdensome restrictions on state agencies applying for grants, healthcare providers treating chronic pain, and patient payment of unpaid medical bills.
  • 2020 Bill Tracker
  • 10% Rate Increase for Skilled Nursing Facilities: The legislature approved a 10% increase to Medicaid rates for skilled nursing facilities in 2019, recognizing the needs of nursing facilities that depend on Medicaid reimbursement to provide long term care to aging South Dakotans.  
  • Healthcare Recruitment, Licensure, and Practice: In 2019, the legislature approved almost $1 million in general funds for healthcare provider recruitment assistance programs and made it easier for spouses of military professionals to transfer their healthcare license, certificate, or registration to South Dakota. South Dakota also enacted MOST legislation, allowing medical providers and patients to translate end of life treatment goals and preferences into actional medical orders transportable across all healthcare settings and facilities.
  • Medicaid Innovation Grants: The legislature approved $1 million in innovation grants for primary and prenatal care and $5 million in long term care innovation grants to pilot new ideas over three years and transform healthcare in South Dakota.
  • Telehealth: South Dakota passed two bills providing for utilization and payment of telehealth services in 2019. The bills defined telehealth scope of practice and set out that private health plans may not exclude telehealth services categorically from coverage.
  • Other 2019 Legislation: South Dakota implemented a 2.5% increase to Medicaid rates for all providers effective April 1, 2019, passed a law requiring all sexual assault kits to be tested, and provided an opportunity to construct replacement facilities within a certain distance of a nursing home closure.

State News

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Resources

2024 Legislative Podcasts

Week 1 | Jan 9-12 – click here

Week 3 | Jan 22-25 – click here

Week 4 | Jan 29 – Feb 2 – click here

Week 6 | Feb 12-15 – click here

Week 7 | Feb 20-23 – click here

Week 8 | Feb 26-29 – click here