South Dakota Medicaid Eligibility Calculator (2026)
South Dakota voters approved the expansion in November 2022 and coverage began July 1, 2023; adults qualify up to $1,836 a month. The state’s pregnancy limit is among the lowest anywhere, at $3,142 for a household of three.
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Eligibility checklist
Ballot after ballot
The 2022 measure placed expansion in the state constitution and barred extra burdens on enrollees. In November 2024 voters approved a second amendment allowing work requirements; after federal law imposed them, South Dakota withdrew its own work-requirement waiver. A third amendment, on the November 2026 ballot, would let the state end the expansion if the federal match drops below 90%.[KFF][KFF]
| Group | FPL | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adults 19–64 | 138% | $1,836 | $2,489 | $3,142 | $3,795 | $5,102 |
| Pregnancy | 138% | $1,836 | $2,489 | $3,142 | $3,795 | $5,102 |
| Children | 209% | $2,780 | $3,769 | $4,759 | $5,748 | $7,727 |
Children high, pregnancy low
Medicaid covers children of every age to 182% of the poverty line and the separate CHIP carries them to 204%.[MACPAC] Pregnancy coverage — Medicaid and the from-conception option alike — stops at 133% (138% with the disregard).[MACPAC]
Postpartum
South Dakota’s 12-month postpartum extension was approved June 5, 2023.[KFF] Because its pregnancy limit is 138% of the poverty line, the extension mostly protects low-income mothers whose income rises after delivery.[MACPAC]
Applying
The Department of Social Services handles applications. Parents have their own group to 43% of the poverty line; South Dakota has no poverty-level or medically needy pathway for older adults.[MACPAC][MACPAC]
Worked example
A Sioux Falls couple expecting their first child (three people for Medicaid) earns $3,400 a month. That is 149.3% of the poverty line for 3.
| Pregnant | over by $258 | $3,142 |
| Adult 19–64 | over by $258 | $3,142 |
Nearby: North Dakota · Minnesota · Iowa · Nebraska · Wyoming · Montana. How limits are applied · South Dakota DSS — Medicaid · Report a correction