OPINION: Governor Daugaard's opposition to SD accepting $45 million or so to make healthcare better for South Dakota's poor is absurd. His logic is instead pure ideological mythology BS. The program expansion in South Dakota should have happened months ago. Daugaard is not representing South Dakotans on this issue, he is playing puppet for the national wingnut retrogressive Republicans who oppose anything supported by President Obama and for the worst of irrelevant excuses.
BUT, South Dakota insurers, hospitals, clinics, etc. should be required to reduce charges to cash paying patients and clients and also for insurance providers, etc. There would be very significant reductions of hospitals stuck with patient bad debt, etc. If the benefits of expanding Medicare-Medicade in South Dakota is not monitored, the program will be an unmerited windfall for the medical and insurance industries.
The South Dakota legislature can do something to benefit all of us. They could also use this to try out the expanded powers of the SD Insurance Commission. Without any real enforcement powers for many years, it was another typical Republican program giving only the illusion it served some useful regulatory purpose.
** Stay Tuned and stay well--- Doug Wiken
Comments