Health and Human Services committee wraps up, sets interim studies on Indian Medicaid, EMS and community service providers

The South Dakota Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee concluded its final meeting of the session with a brief wrap‑up of work and a set of interim priorities, members said.

At the start of the meeting the committee approved minutes from the previous session after Senator Perry moved to approve and Senator Davis seconded the motion; the motion passed by voice vote. The chair then invited legislative pages to introduce themselves. "I'm Prince Skoolie. I'm a junior from Castlewood," one page said, and another identified himself as Jackson Johannes, a junior at Terrier High School.

The committee used the meeting largely to review what it will pursue during the interim. Senator Davis highlighted three priorities the committee expects to follow up on: an Indian Medicaid task force to examine services for tribal members, continuing the Emergency Medical Services summer study for another year so it can resolve outstanding funding and operational questions, and an interim task force to review community service providers (CSPs) that serve vulnerable populations. "I think those forward‑thinking ideas that we identified and prioritized through this committee" will guide the interim work, Davis said.

Members also noted that they had received a suggestion for a food‑insecurity study, which some described as better suited to a white paper than a formal summer study. A member thanked staff—identified in the transcript as Zoe—for arranging materials and distributing gift cards to the pages.

Senator Smith, who told the committee he will not return next year, thanked colleagues and reflected on the committee’s broad reach into health services across the state. Several other members echoed appreciation for collegial debate and the committee’s work on health‑related issues.

Before adjourning, Senator Smith moved to adjourn; Senator Grove seconded the motion, and the chair closed the meeting by voice vote. The meeting’s recorded feed then returned to SDPB programming announcements.

What happened next: the committee adjourned without additional votes on legislation. The transcript does not specify dates for the task forces’ next steps or membership rosters, and details about specific funding levels or statutory directives for the interim studies were not provided in the recorded remarks.