Hundreds of thousands of Alabamians are in the Medicaid coverage gap, and most of them are working at low-paid but essential jobs. They're folks we see every day but may not realize are living without access to health care. Medicaid expansion would ensure they have the health coverage they need to survive and thrive.

Over the next weeks, Alabama Arise will highlight the stories of some of the nearly 10,000 personal care workers who would benefit from Medicaid expansion in our state. They include hairstylists, barbers, estheticians and nail techs. After months of hard work, we've published something I'm especially proud of: the first two stories in our new See the Gap story series.

We kicked off our series with a personal story about how beauty professionals make sacrifices to support us, but often have no safety net of their own when it comes to having access to affordable health care for themselves or their families.

Our first storyteller is Katie Franklin, a single mom and nail salon manager who works seven days a week in the Birmingham area. Because she can't afford insurance and Alabama hasn't expanded Medicaid, Katie recently had to choose between treating an injury at home or risking deep debt from medical bills. She used her COVID-19 stimulus check to pay off previous medical debt.