South Dakota Chapter of Americans for Prosperity reacts to Governor’s Address

AFP Reacts to Governor’s State of the State Address

“Medicaid Expansion Under Obamacare Too Risky To Be Lumped In With The Rest Of The State’s Priorities,” Says State Director Lee

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — Americans for Prosperity South Dakota reacted with disappointment to Governor Daugaard’s announcement of his plan to expand Medicaid in his 2016 State of the State address.

State Director Ben Lee released the following statement:

“While the state legislature absolutely should be working towards furthering policies that increase access and decrease the cost of healthcare, the Governor’s plan to include Obama’s Medicaid Expansion in the 2016 budget just isn’t what the doctor ordered. The risks of this plan are serious — and they deserve to have their own debate away from the fog of budgetary gimmicks. Only with two clean votes: one on Medicaid Expansion and one on the budget, can citizens be sure that their lawmakers are doing the right thing. Medicaid expansion is just too risky to be lumped in with funding for critical state priorities like schools and roads.”

“Expanding Medicaid under Obamacare would expand the national debt by $373 million a year while shackling the state to Obamacare’s terms funding and conditions. Even worse, should the federal government ever change its mind about the funding formula, the state could be put at risk of cuts to school and roads, tax increases or all three!”