9/28/2026

The South Dakota Department of Social Services published a notice in the September 28, 2026 South Dakota Register announcing its intent to amend the South Dakota CHIP and Medicaid State Plans. The amendment is required to comply with section 71109 of the Working Families Tax Cut (WFTC) Legislation, Public Law 119-21 (HR1). The State Plan Amendment (SPA) is intended to be effective October 1, 2026. Beginning October 1, 2026, federal Medicaid and CHIP eligibility standards will no longer permit eligibility for qualified non-citizens who are not Federal Financial Participation (FFP)-eligible non-citizens. FFP-eligible qualified non-citizens are defined as certain Lawful Permanent Residents (LPRs), Cuban and Haitian entrants, and Compact of Free Association (COFA) migrants. All qualifying FFP-eligible non-citizen statuses are lawfully residing individuals. The SPA will amend the Citizenship and Non-Citizen Eligibility Medicaid SPA Renewable Unit and the CS 18: Non-Financial Eligibility-Citizenship CHIP SPA templates provided by CMS. The department states this change may result in an initial reduction in Medicaid and CHIP expenditures, offset by an increase in expenditures for Emergency Medicaid coverage under section 1903(v)(3) of the Social Security Act, resulting in no or minimal overall change in annual expenditures. The public comment period runs from September 28, 2026 through October 28, 2026. Written comments may be submitted to MedicaidSPA@state.sd.us or to the Division of Medical Services, Department of Social Services, 700 Governors Drive, Pierre, South Dakota 57501-2291. Separately, the South Dakota Board of Addiction and Prevention Professionals filed final administrative rules across numerous sections of SDAC Title 20:80, effective October 11, 2026, following a July 31, 2026 hearing. The Department of Social Services also filed final administrative rules amending SDAC 67:61, effective October 11, 2026, following an August 14, 2026 hearing.