Noem to Finally Hold Town Hall
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The South Dakota Democratic Party released the following statement responding to today’s announcement that Rep. Kristi Noem will finally hold a town hall in South Dakota:
“The people of South Dakota want to be heard by their elected officials. After months of pressure from people of all political parties across South Dakota, Kristi Noem has finally relented and will hold an in-person town hall tomorrow in Watertown. We encourage any person who is able to attend and ask her to answer for her inadequate healthcare plan and her support for the extreme and out-of-touch agenda of Republicans in Congress. We hope Rep. Noem will move beyond stale talking points, and give real answers to why she supports a healthcare plan which will have the following negative impacts on South Dakota:
- 25,000 South Dakotans could lose their health care.
- South Dakota could lose $300 million in Medicaid funding.
- 447,800 South Dakotans could lose coverage of preventive services like cancer screenings and flu shots.
- 448,500 South Dakotans could lose consumer protections like the prohibition on annual and lifetime limits, protection against unfair policy rescissions, and coverage of preexisting health conditions in their employer-sponsored health insurance.
- 15,100 South Dakotans could lose cost-sharing reductions to lower out-of-pocket costs such as deductibles, co-pays, and coinsurance, making healthcare coverage unaffordable.
“Put simply, Rep. Noem owes it to the people of South Dakota to explain why she is so proud of a healthcare plan which means tens of millions of people without insurance, and an increase in the cost of care for everyday South Dakotans – especially the elderly, all while giving tax breaks to the wealthy and insurance company CEOs. We call on Senators Rounds and Thune, and announced candidates for Congress, like Dusty Johnson and Shantel Krebs, to hold town halls of their own to answer for their support of this plan.”
###