Hard to believe that this week marks week seven in the 2026 Session. The BIG news of the week is SB 211 (ambulance bill). The bill failed to pass the Senate by a vote of 17-16! That was a little too close for comfort. Thank you to all of you who engaged in this battle;  it was a great team effort.

February 24th was crossover day, and some of the placeholder bills have been eliminated. The House of Representatives finished its calendar early, but the Senate was still in session late yesterday afternoon and into the evening.

 Our next Legislative Update will be held by Zoom on March 6, 2026, at 12:00 PM Central Time. I hope to see you there and look forward to answering your questions! 

The following are the bills we are tracking:

This week marks the sixth week of the 2026 Session, and it is a big week for insurance bills.

HB 1199 (gold card bill) was amended with a hoghouse amendment that mirrors the Iowa bill. The bill passed the House Health and Human Services Committee as amended (14-0 consent). We like compromises.

SB 233 (restricts insurer's ability to negotiate with providers) is up for committee hearing on Wednesday, February 18th. We have been actively engaged in opposition to the bill. The South Dakota Medical Association is aggressively promoting the bill, and it is a bitter battle.

HB 1292 (retroactive recoupment) is also scheduled for a hearing on Wednesday. An amendment has been posted that retains Section 1 of the bill. 

SB 211 (ambulance bill) was originally scheduled for a hearing on Wednesday, but the committee agenda was revised to remove SB 211. No agreements have been reached on the reimbursement rate (325%) in Section 2 of the bill. 

Cross-over day is Tuesday, February 24th.

Our next Legislative Update will be held by Zoom on February 20, 2026, at 12:00 PM Central Time. I hope to see you there and look forward to answering your questions!

The following are bills we are tracking:

The week of February 9th marks the 5th week in the 2026 Legislative Session. The deadline for introducing bills was February 4th, and the final bill count is 325 House bills and 245 Senate bills.

Our next Legislative Update will be held by Zoom on February 20, 2026, at 12:00 PM Central Time. I hope to see you there and look forward to answering your questions!

The following are bills we are tracking:

This week saw a ton of new bills filed. The final day for legislators to introduce an unlimited number of bills was Thursday, January 29th. The deadline for introducing bills is February 4th. Current bill count: 264 House bills and 218 Senate bills. We are one-third of the way through the 2026 Session! The Session meets February 2-6 this week, which is one of two 5-day weeks.

Our next Legislative Update will be held by Zoom on February 6, 2026, at 12:00 PM Central Time. I hope to see you there and look forward to answering your questions!

The following are bills we are tracking:

We are off and running in our third week of the 2026 South Dakota Legislative session. Last week was a busy one filled with committee hearings. We are currently looking at 164 House bills and 144 Senate bills. The deadline for filing is February 4^th.

Our next Legislative Update will be held on February 6, 2026,  at 12:00 PM Central Time. I hope to see you there and look forward to answering your questions!

The following are the bills we are tracking: