NPR: How expanded Medicaid could improve food security

NPR's Michel Martin spoke with Arise’s Jim Carnes on All Things Considered about how Medicaid expansion would help lift Americans out of the poverty that causes food insecurity.

AL.com: 260,000+ Alabamians should claim federal stimulus payments by Oct. 15

“An estimated 267,000 eligible Alabamians have not received their federal stimulus payments of $1,200 per eligible adult and $500 per eligible child,” Arise’s Carol Gundlach writes in an AL.com op-ed. “Altogether, the IRS still owes Alabama families more than $260 million in stimulus money. The deadline to claim the payments is Oct. 15, so immediate outreach efforts are crucial to ensure Alabamians don’t miss out.”

Eligible people who didn’t receive an automatic payment can apply directly to the IRS using the “Non-Filer” tool found at irs.gov/coronavirus/non-filers-enter-payment-info-here. Only U.S. citizens and authorized permanent residents are eligible for payments, and every person in the household must have a Social Security number.

Alabama Political Reporter: Republican COVID-19 relief bill was “wholly inadequate”

“Congress needs to step up and do its job by protecting people from harm,” Arise’s Robyn Hyden tells the Alabama Political Reporter. “Last month’s executive actions were nothing more than a Band-Aid over a gaping economic wound. And any so-called relief bill that doesn’t help people keep food on the table and a roof over their heads is no relief bill at all.”

Alabama Political Reporter: Web series pushing for Medicaid expansion spotlights uninsured Alabamians

“There has never been a more urgent time for Southerners to unite and fight for health coverage,” Arise's Jane Adams, who directs the Cover Alabama Coalition, tells the Alabama Political Reporter. “Our region’s legacy of poverty and racial injustice only compounds the threat of COVID-19.”

Register now to join Cover Alabama and other health care advocates at a digital vigil this Thursday at 6 p.m. in honor of Southerners who have suffered or died in the coverage gap.