House Bill 10‑06 would repeal the state statute that authorizes last‑resort state assistance to persons with chronic renal failure. The Department of Social Services told the House Appropriations Committee the program is largely obsolete because Medicaid and private insurance now cover dialysis and related services, and that the program served only three people in the last year at a cost of roughly $6,000.

Jason Simmons, DSS chief financial officer, described the program as a 1976 statutory remedy created when transplantation and dialysis were less common and private coverage less comprehensive. DSS recommended repeal because the program’s ongoing administrative cost likely exceeds the small amounts it disburses and because the statute requires the state to pay only after all other coverage is exhausted.

Opponents included hospital and health‑system lobbyists. Jacob Parsons of the South Dakota Association of Healthcare Organizations and Alan Solano of Monument Health told the committee the program, though small in dollar terms, paid crucial transportation or other last‑mile costs for patients who would otherwise not get needed dialysis and that, for people with end‑stage renal disease, missing dialysis is life‑threatening. They urged the committee to retain the statute or consider a smaller cut rather than full repeal.

Committee members did not take a final vote on the repeal during the hearing and deferred disposition to later budget deliberations.