Health care giants promise another push for Medicaid expansion in 2017

The fight to expand Medicaid in South Dakota isn't over, stakeholders said Thursday.

Despite delays from the Legislature in addressing the proposal to expand the federal health insurance program for needy people, health care industry officials said they would push for expansion in 2017.

At a meeting in Sioux Falls, representatives from the governor's office, health care organizations from across the state including Avera, Sanford and Rapid City Regional as well as a handful of legislative candidates met to discuss how they'd again make the argument for expansion in the Legislature.

Banking on more concrete information and a new group of legislators, supporters from the health community said they'd lobby lawmakers with a new focus on the money local governments could save by ensuring more South Dakotans had insurance to pay for early cancer screening and preventative care.

Read more: http://www.argusleader.com/story/news/politics/2016/08/25/health-care-giants-promise-another-push-medicaid-expansion-2017/89335860/