SD Gov. Wants Flexibility In Medicaid Expansion

South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard says he hopes Congress will change the federal health care law to give states more flexibility in expanding Medicaid.

Daugaard wants the state to delay a decision on whether to add thousands of South Dakotans to the state-federal program that pays medical bills for low-income people. He says he is uncertain the federal government can keep its promise to pick up most of the cost.

The proposed expansion would add an estimated 48,000 people, mostly adults without children, to Medicaid. But the Republican governor says about half those people would also be eligible for federal subsidies to buy private health insurance.

He says he would be interested in expanding Medicaid to cover those who do not qualify for subsidies to buy private insurance.