The Arise Report - March 2023

This is an electronic version of the March newsletter that will be mailed to Alabama Arise members.

Join or renew your Arise membership today to ensure you get the next print edition in your mailbox!

Click here to check out the full online version.

Fresh opportunities to push for a better Alabama

The Alabama Legislature will welcome 37 new lawmakers to its halls when its 2023 regular session begins March 7. Alabama Arise sees this as an opportunity to educate new legislators and identify new allies on issues of importance to our members. We urge folks to join us in calling for change.

Learn more about our priorities for this year, including untaxing groceries, expanding Medicaid, reining in fines and fees, and funding public transportation.

Arise Legislative Day is Tuesday, April 11!

Your voice matters! Make plans now to speak up with us for a better Alabama for all. Join us at Arise’s 2023 Legislative Day on Tuesday, April 11, at the RSA Plaza in Montgomery.

Legislative Day is an annual opportunity for Arise supporters to meet their lawmakers and make the case for policy changes to improve life for everyday Alabamians. We expect this year’s advocacy to focus on expanding Medicaid, untaxing groceries and funding public transit.

Budget priorities for the people

After years of scarcity, both Alabama budgets are starting out with a revenue surplus. There’s $351 million in “excess” revenue for the General Fund, and $2.7 billion for the Education Trust Fund. That’s not even counting the remaining $1.1 billion in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds still awaiting allocation.

What we heard at this year’s budget hearings was not surprising. Public services like education, health care, mental health and supportive services need more resources after years of underinvestment. State agencies are struggling with worker shortages and the consequences of underfunding – and understaffing – critical programs. It’s no surprise that lawmakers heard a long, detailed list of opportunities to meet these needs. Most agency heads were clear that new funding can’t fix all of the problems – but it’s a start.

The workforce benefits of Medicaid expansion in Alabama

For nearly a decade, Alabama has been outside looking in on a good deal. While hundreds of thousands of Alabamians struggle without health insurance, state leaders have failed to expand Medicaid to cover adults with low incomes. A few loud voices have politicized an issue that shouldn’t be political. And our state has paid the price in lost dollars, lost jobs and lost lives.

Reliable access to health care keeps people healthier and empowers them to work. That’s one reason 39 states and the District of Columbia have embraced Medicaid expansion. Alabama is one of 11 states that has yet to expand Medicaid. That inaction has left more than 220,000 Alabamians in a health coverage gap.

End of emergency SNAP allotments will increase hunger in Alabama

Temporary increases to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits helped ease suffering for families across Alabama and nationwide. But those boosts expired in February. SNAP participants now face a benefit decrease that will cut their food assistance significantly.

Nearly 400,000 Alabama households will see average cuts to their SNAP benefits of around $170 a month.

How Alabama can protect health coverage during the Medicaid 'unwinding' period

In 2020, we watched as the COVID-19 pandemic changed the world. Many of us searched for toilet paper, stocked up on groceries and spent a lot of quality time in our homes as we sheltered in place. But the world did not change only in our daily lives. This public health emergency (PHE) also led Medicaid officials to take additional steps to ensure people could afford to get medical care when they needed it.

As the PHE’s end approaches, though, tens of thousands of Alabamians will start paying more for critical medical care – or simply be unable to afford it – unless our state lawmakers take action.

See the Gap: How Medicaid expansion would help hairstylists and barbers

Hairstylists and barbers often work six or seven days a week, with little fanfare and long hours on their feet. But most don’t get health insurance through their employers. And those who are self-employed often don’t make enough to afford private coverage.

In her “See the Gap” series, Alabama Arise storyteller Whit Sides spotlights a few of the thousands of Alabama personal care professionals who would benefit from Medicaid expansion.

A membership base that looks like Alabama

At Alabama Arise, people are our power. As a member, you are part of a network that drives our shared vision of a state where all people have resources to reach their potential. Collectively, you vote on our policy priorities, stay informed through our Daily News Digest and legislative updates, and advocate for fair public policies.

Because members like you are important to our mission, we work to diversify and expand our membership. We want to be reflective of Alabama and representative of people living paycheck to paycheck.

Welcome, Akiesha!

Akiesha Anderson joined Arise as our new policy and advocacy director in November 2022. In this role, she leads a team of policy advocates and analysts committed to improving the lives of Alabamians who are marginalized by poverty.

Arise also recently had two other staff changes. Debbie Smith is now the Cover Alabama campaign director after serving as a northeast Alabama organizer since 2018. And Celida Soto Garcia is leaving Arise after working as a hunger policy advocate since 2019. We thank Celida for her great work and wish her well!

Alabama Arise

P.O. Box 1188, Montgomery, Alabama 36101

(334) 832-9060 · [email protected]

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