Healthy South Dakotans
With 40+ years experience serving as a healthcare provider, one of my top priorities is to ensure all South Dakotans have access to quality health care.
Health influences every aspect of our lives. Rural healthcare like we have in District 4 is specifically a challenge. We need to ensure rural communities have access to healthcare including preventative care, mental health services, and long-term care. As your legislator, I have been a leader in shaping policy that supports health.
I have delivered on my promise to address healthcare issues.
- In 2023, I served as the sole South Dakota legislator on the national task force seeking state-level solutions to the opioid epidemic, and helped to champion legislation authorizing employers to make life-saving opioid antagonists available in the workplace (HB1162).
- In 2021, I supported a license recognition bill (HB1077) to encourage healthcare providers to come to South Dakota without any additional licensure requirements. The passage of this bill helps to address healthcare shortage issues.
- I was the prime sponsor of HB1154 (2021) to prohibit healthcare employers from requiring doctors sign no-compete contracts. The passage of this bill helps to address healthcare shortage issues and supports the doctor-patient relationship.
- In 2023, with requests from numerous practitioners and near unanimous support from the legislature, I expanded the provisions of HB1154 to include all types of healthcare practitioners, to provide even greater access to healthcare in our rual communities.
- I advocated for healthcare access and cost-effectiveness of HB1121 (2022) which enables our emergency services personnel to be utilized within our hospitals and outside the limitation of only prehospital and emergency rooms. The passage of this bill allows emergency services personnel to address some of our healthcare shortage issues.
- I supported HB1123 (2022) which establishes a licensure category for rural hospitals and provides a definition for rural hospitals with ONLY emergency room services. The designation impacts federal reimbursement levels and is necessary to help our rural hospitals remain open.
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I served on the Interim Study Committee on Medical Marijuana. I introduced numerous bills to define the difference between recreational cannabis (that District 4 voters said “no” to 68% - 32%) and medical cannabis (that District 4 voters said “yes” to 60% - 40%).
- I introduced one of the first bills in the nation to protect children from harmful, irreversible, and experimental "gender-transition" procedures that permanently alter children’s bodies without any proven long-term benefit. This legislation has now passed in some 20 states. (HB1057, 2020)
I look forward to continuing to improve on these advancements and find additional ways to improve healthcare while reducing costs.
