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As federal agencies come to the table with the Rosebud Sioux Tribe to discuss ways to improve health care at an embroiled reservation hospital, Medicaid expansion supporters say the dialogue could propel efforts to grow the health care program for needy people. With a spotlight shining on the Rosebud hospital, the stage could be set for a broader conversation about improving Indian Health Service (IHS) in the South Dakota. Gov. Dennis Daugaard has been working for months to strike a deal with federal agencies and private health care providers that would save South Dakota taxpayers millions of dollars that could be used to expand Medicaid in the state to tens of thousands of low income residents. (Ferguson, 3/6)

Medicaid expansion in Missouri continues to be a major item of partisan contention within the state legislature, and now, candidates for governor have begun weighing in on the issue. Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster, a Democratic gubernatorial candidate, recently tweeted: "A single mother of two can’t qualify for basic healthcare through Medicaid if she makes more than $3,504 dollars a year." Koster’s statistic seemed pretty low, and we decided to take a closer look at the state’s Medicaid eligibility requirements. ... Our Ruling: Koster may be off by a little more than $100 when it comes to the maximum income a single mother of two can have and still qualify for Medicaid. But his point that Missouri’s maximum yearly income for parents on Medicaid is one of the lowest in the nation is on target. (Moeller, 3/6)