LISTEN: What expanding Medicaid means in South Dakota

For months, PBS NewsHour health reporter Laura Santhanam interviewed people across South Dakota to better understand what's at stake in the push to expand Medicaid.

Many patients Santhanam spoke with fell into the Medicaid coverage gap – earning too much to qualify for Medicaid, but too little to afford their own health insurance. In South Dakota, early estimates suggested this expansion could make more than 42,000 people eligible for Medicaid.

And it’s not just patients who would benefit. Over and over again, health care providers said they desperately wanted a stronger safety net – to boost both patient outcomes and the state’s health care system.

Last month, Santhanam traveled to South Dakota to hear from patients, providers and advocates. The NewsHour also heard from national experts about the significance of South Dakota's vote – with 56% of voters wanting more people to have health care coverage under Medicaid – and what's next in Medicaid expansion.

Our guests for this conversation were Rick Weiland, co-founder of Dakotans for Health, and Joan Alker, Executive Director of the Center for Children and Families at Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy.

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