South Dakota
South Dakota’s 101st Legislative Session kicked off on January 13, and CHAD is excited to represent the interests of health centers and the patients they serve this session. Throughout the session, which runs through mid-March, CHAD’s external affairs manager for South Dakota (Liz Schenkel) will be on the ground in Pierre alongside longtime lobbyist Jennifer Stalley. Together, they will be actively engaging with lawmakers to champion policies that strengthen our state’s health centers.
Our policy priorities include advancing access to care and sustainability, strengthening the health care workforce, and promoting healthy communities. This year, our main focus will be working toward an updated Medicaid reimbursement rate for all federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) in the state. You can review our policy priorities in more depth here.
New this year, CHAD has launched a bill –tracker so all health center advocates can be in-the-know about health-oriented legislation. You can view the bill tracker here or by navigating to https://communityhealthcare.net/policy/ .
North Dakota
North Dakota, which only has a full legislative session every other year, will have a short, 3-day special session to appropriate dollars awarded to the State of North Dakota as part of the CMS-run Rural Health Transformation Program starting January 21. The external affairs manager in North Dakota will closely monitor ND’s special session and share updates.
Stay Up to Date
Make sure you don’t miss updates and advocacy opportunities – sign up for CHAD’s advocacy listserv, Dakota Health Center Voices.
