The Office of the Attorney General has created the Seniors Issues section to provide seniors with some basic information about health care, insurance, consumer protection, estate planning and services for seniors available from other parts of government.

The South Dakota Department of Social Services works to strengthen and support individuals and families by fostering independence and personal responsibility; protecting people; providing opportunities for individuals to achieve their full potential; and promoting healthy families and safe communities by ensuring that quality, cost-effective and comprehensive services are provided in cooperation with its partners.

The mission of the South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation (DLR) is to protect the public and make insurance available and affordable by efficiently providing quality assistance, providing fair regulation for industry, and promoting a healthy, competitive insurance market. The DLR houses the Department of Insurance as well as the Division of Banking.

The South Dakota Office of the Attorney General has three responsibilities. First, it fights crime by assisting city and county law enforcement. Second, it provides legal services for all of the officials and agencies of state government. Third, the office enforces consumer protection laws for the benefit of all South Dakota citizens. In that capacity, it monitors the insurance industry for seniors and others.

The Office of Health Facilities Licensure and Certification surveys, licenses and recommends federal certification for health care facilities. Its goal is to ensure state health and safety standards are met and also federal standards if the facility is a Medicaid or Medicare provider.

The South Dakota Division of Consumer Protection consists of an assistant attorney general, a director, four investigators, and a complaint intake specialist, all of whom work under the direction of the attorney general.

The South Dakota Department of Health delivers a wide range of public health services to prevent disease, promote health and ensure access to needed, high-quality health care.

The mission of the South Dakota Office of Rural Health is to improve the access and delivery of health services to rural and medically underserved communities. The office works primarily at the local level recruiting health professionals; assisting facilities such as hospitals and rural health clinics; helping interested organizations develop and use technology applications; and providing general information and referrals.

Medicare offers prescription drug coverage for all people with Medicare. People who have Medicare and a limited income may also qualify for extra help with paying their prescription drug costs.

The South Dakota Retirement System (SDRS) provides a foundation for the financial future of more than 73,000 members and their families. Its mission is to give members "the opportunity to achieve financial security at retirement, death or disability by providing an outstanding, appropriate and equitable level of benefits." The system's overall goal is to provide lifetime income replacement, including Primary Social Security and personal retirement savings, to meet the retirement income needs of at least 85 percent of final pay for members who participate for a full career.

A grant from the Administration on Aging and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) provided an opportunity for the Division of Adult Services and Aging to launch the state’s first Aging and Disability Resource Connections (ADRC) in the community of Sioux Falls.

The Division of Adult Services and Aging provides home and community service options to individuals 60 years of age and older as well as those 18 years of age and older with physical disabilities, regardless of income. The focus of this division is to enable these South Dakotans to live independent, meaningful and dignified lives while maintaining close family and community ties.

The RXAccess program provides people with access to drug company assistance programs that supply prescription medications at low or no cost.

The Division of Medical Services oversees all areas of the Medicaid Program, except for the eligibility criteria, which are handled by the Division of Economic Assistance. This division works with all enrolled South Dakota Medicaid providers.

The mission of the Division of Insurance is to protect the public and to make insurance available and affordable by efficiently providing quality assistance, fair regulation for industry, and a healthy, competitive insurance market.

The South Dakota Department of Social Services is in the process of replacing its Medicaid Management Information System with a payment-processing system called the South Dakota Medical Electronic Data Exchange (SD MEDX). SD MEDX enhances the department's ability to meet the needs of the individuals it serves by supporting more efficient and timely payment processing, enabling access to important information for providers and recipients, and helping to manage South Dakota Medicaid more effectively.

The South Dakota Risk Pool provides health care coverage for those who cannot qualify for coverage anywhere else. Adults and children who have recently lost coverage may qualify. Additionally, children under the age of 19 who have not had coverage in the last six months may be eligible.

The South Dakota Life & Health Insurance Guaranty Association is a statutory entity created in 1989 when the South Dakota Legislature enacted the South Dakota Life & Health Insurance Guaranty Association Act. The guaranty association is composed of all insurers licensed to sell life insurance, accident and health insurance, and individual annuities in the state of South Dakota. In the event that a member insurer is found to be insolvent and is ordered to be liquidated by a court, the Guaranty Association Act enables the guaranty association to provide protection (up to the limits spelled out in the act) to South Dakota residents who are holders of life and health insurance policies and individual annuities with the insolvent insurer.

AARP, formerly the American Association of Retired Persons, is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization with a membership that advocates for people ages 50 and older. Since 1958, AARP has lobbied for senior issues, including the passage of Medicare in 1965. AARP offers support from staffed offices in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The South Dakota Association of Healthcare Organizations is the state-wide professional/trade association representing and serving health care organizations across the state. The association is a not-for-profit organization representing a diverse range of membership, spanning various types of institutional ownership, geographic location, size and complexities of service. Members include acute care and nursing facilities, home health agencies, assisted living centers and hospice organizations.

The South Dakota Urban Indian Health Inc. (SDUIH) is a nonprofit organization that works to provide quality health care for Indian people and the economically disadvantaged or medically underserved in the urban areas of South Dakota. SDUIH promotes a balance between physical, spiritual, behavioral and mental health for the entire family.

South Dakota Foundation for Medical Care is the Quality Improvement Organization (QIOs) for South Dakota, QIOs are private, mostly not-for-profit organizations, staffed by doctors and other health care professionals, who are trained to review medical care, to help beneficiaries with complaints about the quality of care and to implement improvements in the quality of care available throughout the spectrum of care. QIOs are required under Sections 1152-1154 of the Social Security Act.

The Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP) program helps Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries avoid, detect and prevent health care fraud. The goal is to protect older people and to preserve the integrity of the Medicare and Medicaid programs. The federal program was created in 1996 by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and amended in 2006 by Titles II and IV of the Older Americans Act. In South Dakota, the SMP is administered through the nonprofit East River Legal Services, with offices in Sioux Falls and Rapid City.

Long-term care ombudsmen are advocates for residents of nursing homes and assisted living facilities. They resolve complaints and educate seniors and long-term care providers about their rights and good care practices. They also provide information to the public on nursing homes and other long-term care facilities and services, residents' rights, and legislative and policy issues. In 1978, an amendment to the federal Older Americans Act required every state to have an ombudsman program that addresses complaints and advocates for improvements in the long-term care system. The ombudsman program is administered by the Administration on Aging (AoA).

The Area Agencies on Aging (AAA) were established under the Older Americans Act (OAA) Comprehensive Services Amendments in 1973 to respond to the needs of Americans 60 and older in every local community. The amendments added a new Title V, which authorized grants to local community agencies in every state. The AAAs provide a range of options that allow older adults to choose the home- and community-based services and living arrangements that suit them best.

The Senior Health Information and Insurance Education (SHIINE) program is part of the State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP), a national program that offers counseling and assistance to people with Medicare and to their families. Coordinators provide counseling on Medicare benefits, Medicare Prescription Drug Plans (Part D), Social Security, Medicaid and veterans' benefits. SHIP, formerly the Information, Counseling and Assistance (ICA) grants program, was created under section 4360 of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990. This act authorized the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to make grants to states for health advisory services programs for people with Medicare.

Mark Shulte is the CEO of Avera McKennan Hospital and University Health Center, and director of Resident Care and Clinics. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of South Dakota.

Kelby K. Krabbenhoft is president and CEO of Sanford Health, which oversees Sanford USD Medical Center. Previously, he was president and CEO of Freeman Health System in Joplin, Mo. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business and hospital administration from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minn., and a master’s degree in business administration from Minnesota State University in Mankato.

This House committee considers matters relating to the health of South Dakota.

This Senate committee considers matters relating to the health of South Dakota.