Medicaid expansion would save thousands of lives, stabilize our rural hospitals and boost Alabama’s recovery from the health, social and economic impacts of COVID-19. It’s a timely, essential investment in our state’s future. And our brand-new report, Medicaid Matters: Charting the Course to a Healthier Alabama, makes the case for expansion stronger than ever before.
Medicaid Matters, released today, is the result of months of research and interviews across the state. Through data, colorful graphics and personal profiles, the report explores Medicaid’s crucial role in Alabama’s health care system. And it reveals how Medicaid expansion would promote racial equity and leave communities better equipped to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
Expanding Medicaid would bring peace of mind to thousands of Alabamians who recently lost their jobs and health insurance. And it would make life better for many uninsured people who are working on the front lines of the pandemic, including workers at grocery stores, hospitals, child care facilities and other essential businesses. The graphic below is just one of the dozens you can find throughout our Medicaid Matters report.
So far, 36 states – including Arkansas, Kentucky and Louisiana – have expanded Medicaid to cover adults with low incomes. But Alabama is one of just 14 states that have not, even though the state would get $9 in federal money for every $1 of state funding.
It’s time to expand Medicaid and ensure all Alabamians have the health security they need and deserve. Click here to read Alabama Arise’s full Medicaid Matters report. Then share it far and wide with your friends and neighbors. Encourage them to get involved with Arise and the Cover Alabama campaign to expand Medicaid.
Together, we can make Medicaid expansion a reality in our state. Together, we can chart the course to a healthier Alabama.
Thank you to The Women’s Fund of Greater Birmingham for funding our work and making this report possible.
