The SDPHA Legislation Committee works diligently to develop an annual legislative and policy agenda that helps guide SDPHA members' state-level public health advocacy efforts. The agenda is reviewed and approved by the SDPHA Board of Directors and shared publicly to support engagement during South Dakota's legislative session.
You can learn more about SDPHA's current Policy Agenda, legislative bill tracker, and ongoing efforts below. In addition to the annual agenda, SDPHA engages in advocacy through action alerts, coalition partnerships, and collaborative efforts with organizations committed to improving the health of South Dakotans.
Why Should You Care About Public Health?
We know that health begins long before illness - where we live, learn, work, and play. All South Dakotans should have the opportunity to make choices that allow them to live a long, healthy life, regardless of their income, education, or zip code.
Issues in South Dakota
America leads the world in medical research and medical care, and for all we spend on health care, we should be the healthiest people on Earth. Yet on some of the most important indicators, like how long we live, South Dakotans face a huge disparity where the average age of death in one county is as low as 58 years and the neighboring county average is 82 years. [1]
Everyone should have a fair chance for good health regardless of where they live. Many health outcomes are worse for rural populations: [2]
SDPHA members were surveyed on their top advocacy and policy priorities, and the following areas emerged.
Legislation Committee Priorities
Public Health is Cost-Effective
Preventative measures such as early screening and health education consistently cost far less
than emergency care, advanced disease treatment, or crisis response. When public health
infrastructure is underfunded, preventative conditions often escalate into high-cost
hospitalizations and workforce absenteeism that ultimately burden taxpayers, employers, and
local healthcare systems.
Access to health care is not equal, as most of our rural and tribal communities are in areas of
health professional shortage areas [3] and are more likely to face problematic social drivers of
health such as poverty. [4]
SDPHA strongly believes in investing in public health for our tribal, rural, and urban populations
through improvement of these upstream factors such as:
Sources:
[1] www.countyhealthrankings.org/health-data/population-health-and-well-being/length-of-life/ life-span/life-expectancy
[2] www.scientificamerican.com/article/people-in-rural-areas-die-at-higher-rates-than-those-in-urban-areas
[3] htt12s://doh.sd.gov/healthcare-12rofessionals/rural-health/shortage-areas/
[4] www.ruralhealthinfo.org/states/south-dakota
PO Box 88443 Sioux Falls, SD 57109 Frequently Asked Questions