A coalition of groups in Alabama urging the state to expand Medicaid applauded voters in Missouri for doing just that in their state on Tuesday.
“Last night, Missouri voters approved a ballot initiative to expand Medicaid. We’ve trounced Missouri on the football field, but they’ve beaten us at getting Medicaid expansion across the goal line,” said Jane Adams, campaign director of the Cover Alabama Coalition, a group of 90 separate entities calling for an expansion of the federal program in Alabama. “Alabama is now one of just 12 states that do not provide health care coverage for working-age adults with low incomes. We call on the Alabama Legislature and Governor Ivey to follow Missouri’s lead and expand Medicaid.”
In Missouri on Tuesday, 53 percent of voters approved a plan to expand Medicaid to cover more than 23,000 low-income residents, according to the St. Louis-Post Dispatch. The GOP-controlled state Legislature there had fought an expansion of the program, made possible by the Affordable Care ACt.
Approximately 64 percent of Alabamians polled said they support expanding Medicaid in Alabama, including 52 percent of Republicans asked, according to a recent Auburn University at Montgomery poll.
“But Alabama’s elected leaders are still leaving more than 300,000 Alabamians uninsured by refusing to expand health coverage,” Cover Alabama Coalition said in a press release. “Medicaid expansion would benefit working families, primarily adults between the ages of 19 and 64 whose income is at or below 138% of the federal poverty level. In 2020, that amounts to $17,608 for an individual and $36,156 for a household of four.”
“The COVID-19 crisis has created financial uncertainty for our economy, employers and workers,” said Jim Carnes, Alabama Arise policy director and a Cover Alabama steering committee member, in a statement. “Alabama needs economic stimulus, and Medicaid expansion would generate nearly $3 billion a year in new economic activity throughout the state.”
“Medicaid expansion would reduce health disparities and work toward racial equity in health outcomes for all Alabamians,” said Jada Shaffer, Alabama government relations director of the American Heart Association and a Cover Alabama steering committee member. “Communities of color experience higher infant mortality rates, lower life expectancy and higher rates of preventable and chronic conditions like heart disease. We urge lawmakers and Governor Ivey to include Medicaid expansion in their policy solutions to address racial and economic inequality.”
Missouri became the second state this month to decide to expand Medicaid. Voters in Oklahoma chose to do so on July 1, passing the measure by just more than 6,000 votes, according to NPR, which will provide coverage for approximately 200,000 more.
