As Alabama lawmakers grapple to prevent devastating Medicaid cuts, the time is right to address a related threat to our state: the health coverage gap. Nearly 200,000 Alabama workers we depend on every day – in agriculture, food service, retail, home health and other fields – have no access to regular health care. They have no health insurance because their employers don’t offer it. They earn too much to qualify for Medicaid but too little to qualify for federal tax credits to buy private plans. As a result, they often struggle to work while dealing with health problems that sap their productivity, add stress to their households and get worse without timely care.

Closing the coverage gap would not only save lives and help working families; it would stabilize the budget and boost our economy. This fact sheet by policy director Jim Carnes takes a closer look at how Medicaid expansion would benefit Alabama’s health, quality of life and economy.