House Bill 1172 and House Bill 1129

The DOH has expressed concerns about the hundreds of new patient applications that come in when a pop-up clinic is held.

• To say that hundreds of applications come in within a couple of day’s is a bit of a stretch. There’s no way a clinic could see 100 patients in a day. Seeing 30-40 is pushing it, and on top of that, the average weekly card count only increases by about 200 new patients each week. These concerns are fabrications.
• Yes the DOH definitely receives a higher number of new applications over the weekends but that because Pop-Ups generally take place on weekends when people are not working.
• The bill sponsors keep making such a big deal about “pop-ups” but don’t take into consideration that Mobile and outreach clinics are already an established norm in the medical community, so there is an established precedent for “pop-up clinics” to exist and not be limited to brick and mortar buildings.
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Another key fact that is being overlooked is why Pop-Ups were created in the first place.

• Pop-Ups were born out of a necessity for people not living in or around the Sioux Falls area. It’s much easier for a clinic to travel 2,3,4,5+ hours to certify patients than it is for patients with chronic conditions to travel to Sioux Falls. The clinics have literally taken it upon themselves to travel to the patients on their own dime and to help those chronically ill, that should be commended not penalized.
• Small-town or rural healthcare facilities will not certify patients. I’ve talked to many people living in rural communities who did talk to their doctor about cannabis but were directed to ask a dispensary how to find a provider – Dispensaries are not allowed to direct patients toward specific clinics and therefore can not help these patients.