50+ Alabama groups urge Ivey, legislators to oppose cuts to Medicaid, ACA coverage
Cover Alabama coalition members sound alarm about health coverage losses under U.S. House bill
MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Alabama lawmakers should speak out against harmful health care cuts in the U.S. House’s budget reconciliation bill, according to a letter that 52 organizations across Alabama sent to Gov. Kay Ivey and state legislators Wednesday.
The letter, initiated by the Cover Alabama coalition, asks state policymakers to contact members of Congress and express concerns about the bill’s negative impact on Alabama’s families and budgets. Alabama Arise was among the organizations that signed the letter.
“This legislation would undermine Alabama’s ability to manage its Medicaid program, limit our future options and increase barriers to coverage for families across our state,” the letter reads.
Read the organizations’ full letter here.
ACA subsidy cuts would drive up health care costs, undermine economy
The U.S. House voted 215-214 on May 22 for a budget bill that would make health care more expensive or inaccessible for millions of Americans. These health care cuts would help finance efforts to renew or expand tax cuts for wealthy people and highly profitable corporations. The Senate is expected to consider the bill later this month.
“The bill ... would allow the enhanced Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies to expire, making Marketplace plans less affordable for more than 400,000 Alabamians,” the letter reads. “This would result in coverage losses and higher uninsured rates, especially among working families who don’t qualify for Medicaid but can’t afford full-price private plans.”
Expiration of enhanced ACA tax credits would cost Alabama an estimated 10,000 jobs and $1.14 billion in GDP in 2026. “This would worsen economic distress in rural communities and stall local economic growth precisely where it is most needed,” the letter says.
New Medicaid barriers would limit legislators’ flexibility to meet needs, fund program
Threats to health coverage in Alabama would not end there. If enacted, the bill would cost Alabama $619 million in extra federal funding that would help cover the first two years of Medicaid expansion. The bill also would freeze provider taxes at current levels, which would limit the state’s future options for funding Medicaid by effectively forbidding legislators to increase fees on nursing homes, ambulance services and other providers.
“This legislation doesn’t just threaten health coverage for low-income families. It also would strip Alabama of the tools, flexibility and funding we need to manage our own Medicaid program in the way that works best for our state,” the letter says.
The bill also would reduce the retroactive Medicaid coverage period from three months to just one. This change would leave many pregnant women and other Alabamians in greater medical and financial risk. It also would undermine a new law that the Legislature passed this year to remove red-tape barriers to Medicaid coverage for thousands of expectant mothers.
The letter encourages state policymakers to reach out to Alabama’s congressional delegation and urge them to oppose this harmful bill.
“Alabama needs solutions that expand access to care, support our health care providers and respect our state’s decision-making — not more red tape and bureaucratic constraints,” the letter says.
Read the organizations’ full letter here.
