The Senate Appropriations advanced bill designed to prohibit the purchase of soft drinks using SNAP benefits. Senator Paul Miskimins from Mitchell said it was highly contested. “The governor’s office, the South Dakota retailers, South Dakota beverage dealers were against the bill, but luckily it was supported 6-2 on the basis of prevention and placing a higher value on a health care system rather than a disease care system”, he pointed out.
He acknowledged the cost for the first year of the program is $323,000 plus an additional full-time employee. “You can look at it from one perspective and say it’s an extra expense,” Miskimins said. “You can look at it the other way and say that $323,000 is only six-tenths of one percent of the Medicaid dental bill. And the Medicaid dental bill of $51 million is only two and a half percent of Medicaid health care.”
Miskimins said it’s designed to create healthier children. “If we’re not as obese, if we don’t have as much diabetes and other health issues, we’ll save that money easily over each person’s lifetime,” he stated.
HB 1056 now moves to the Senate floor for further consideration.