Susan Wismer, the Democratic candidate for governor of Facebook. Photo from Facebook
Wismer wallops Daugaard in debate
Medicaid takes center stage
By Brandon Ecoffey
Native Sun News Managing Editor RAPID CITY –– It may seem that the Senate race in the state is the only game in town, but that may be changing as the South Dakota gubernatorial race heats up and Democratic candidate Susan Wismer strings together debate victories against current Gov. Dennis Daugaard. Last week Republican Dennis Daugaard, Democratic candidate Susan Wismer, and Independent candidate Mike Myers engaged in a debate broadcast on South Dakota Public Broadcasting sponsored by the South Dakota Newspaper Association and the AARP. The debate that featured back and forth banter from Daugaard, who relied heavily on his record as governor, and Wismer, who spent her time attacking Daugaard’s policies, seemed to be fairly even throughout but on one particular issue that many Native American voters in the state find important, Wismer was the clear winner. In 2012, Gov. Daugaard chose to opt out of part of the Affordable Care Act that would have expanded Medicaid coverage to tens of thousands of poverty stricken residents of South Dakota. This is despite of the fact that the state has one of the lowest pay scales in the country and 3 of the 5 poorest counties in the U.S. At the time Daugaard said to KSFY in Yankton, ““I want to stress that these are able-bodied adults. They’re not disabled; we already cover the disabled. They’re not children; we already cover children. These are adults - all of them.” The state does provide coverage for some but the majority of those who are covered are made up of the poorest of the poor. According to the Kaiser Foundation, a single adult with a disability would be ineligible to receive Medicaid in South Dakota if that individual earns more than $674 a month or has more than $2,000 in assets. Children are ineligible to receive benefits from Medicaid or South Dakota’s Children Health Insurance Program if their family has an income that exceeds 140 percent of the poverty rate, which works out to be $26,726 a year for a family of three. Nearly 48,000 South Dakotans would have received medical coverage had Daugaard chose to move ahead with the expansion in South Dakota. At the time of his decision Daugaard joined 9 Republican governors across the country who chose to fight the institution of the Affordable Care Act that is now being proven to show that opting in to Medicaid is both a money saver and economic stimulus for states as federal dollars supplement state expenditures and the previously uninsured are given access to affordable healthcare that supporters of the Affordable Health Act say will drive down costs. During the debate Wismer continually chastised Daugaard with facts regarding Medicaid expansion. (Contact Brandon Ecoffey staffwriter2@nsweekly.com) Copyright permission Native Sun News
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