Alabama Arise Action members are urging state lawmakers to close the Medicaid coverage gap in Alabama, which they say can save lives, create jobs and boost workforce participation in the Yellowhammer State.
More than 230 activists and supporters of the nonprofit organization from across Alabama gathered on Tuesday, April 2, at the State House in Montgomery to urge Gov. Kay Ivey and legislators to make this investment in a healthier Alabama. Expanding Medicaid to cover adults with low incomes would ensure health coverage for nearly 300,000 Alabamians who are uninsured or struggling to afford coverage, according to Alabama Arise Action.
Representatives from March of Dimes Alabama, the Alabama Rural Health Association and Arise’s Cover Alabama campaign joined Arise members to make the case for closing the health coverage gap. The news conference was part of Arise’s annual Legislative Day.
Alabama Arise Action is pushing for the closure of the state's Medicaid coverage gap for the following reasons and shared the data below:
Closing the coverage gap is vital for rural Alabama:
Alabama is one of only 10 states yet to expand Medicaid to cover adults with low incomes, and the state’s Medicaid eligibility limit is one of the nation’s lowest. A parent in a three-person household who earns just $5,000 a year makes too much to qualify for Alabama Medicaid.
Closing this coverage gap would strengthen workforce participation and boost local economies across Alabama, studies show. It also would help the state’s rural hospitals remain open to serve everyone in their communities, Alabama Rural Health Association president Farrell Turner said Tuesday.
“When a hospital shuts down, it’s not just health care that’s lost. It’s other health services such as pharmacies and lost jobs. It’s access to essential services, and it’s a blow to the very fabric of our communities,” Turner said. “By closing the coverage gap, we can reduce the burden of unpaid costs on health care providers and reinforce their ability to serve our communities.”
19 of Alabama’s 52 rural hospitals are at immediate risk of closure, according to the Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform. The fallout from those closures would extend far beyond the hospital walls, Turner said, as hospital closures erode a community’s quality of life and limit its prospects for economic growth.
Continuous coverage would save lives of parents and infants:
Medicaid expansion also would improve health for parents and children across the state. This is a vital need for Alabama, which has the nation’s worst maternal death rate.
Honour Hill, director of March of Dimes’ maternal and infant health initiatives in Alabama, said Tuesday that closing the coverage gap for all adults with low incomes is an essential step to save lives.
“The health of mom and baby are intrinsically intertwined, and addressing chronic conditions before a woman becomes pregnant is critical,” Hill said. “In Alabama, women of childbearing age need coverage before and between pregnancies, in addition to prenatal and postpartum coverage.”
Lawmakers in 2022 sought to reduce Alabama’s maternal death rate by extending postpartum Medicaid coverage to a full year after childbirth, up from the previous 60 days. Hill said state policymakers should build on that progress by ensuring Alabamians with low incomes can continue to receive care without an interruption due to loss of health coverage.
An investment in greater workforce participation:
For hundreds of thousands of Alabamians, the health coverage gap is not an abstraction but a reality of everyday life. Alabama Arise’s Cover Alabama campaign director, Debbie Smith, spoke Tuesday about the difficult decisions that many families must make because Alabama’s refusal to expand Medicaid has left them with no option for affordable health insurance.
“People are facing unimaginable challenges because they lack access to health care,” Smith said. “Families are forced to make impossible choices between putting food on the table and seeking medical treatment. Individuals are delaying necessary care until it’s too late, all because they can’t afford it.”
Smith highlighted how closing the health coverage gap would allow more people to seek and keep employment, as Alabama has one of the nation’s lowest workforce participation rates. She explained that one of the top factors that unemployed Alabamians cite as a barrier is personal illness or disability.
The time for action is now:
Alabama can and should act to close its coverage gap as well, Smith said. Under the American Rescue Plan Act, the state would get a two-year federal signing bonus worth more than $600 million for adopting expansion.
In addition, the state would receive a permanent 9-to-1 federal match under the Affordable Care Act for covering people newly enrolled under Medicaid expansion. Alabama could close the coverage gap either through legislation or through an executive order by Gov. Kay Ivey.
“It’s time to put politics aside for the well-being of our people,” Smith said. “This isn’t about party lines or partisan agendas. It’s about doing what’s right for Alabama. Governor Ivey, the time for action is now.”
Read more about the push from Alabama Arise Action to close the state’s Medicaid coverage gap here.
