More than 150 Alabama Arise member groups and nearly 2,000 individual members choose our legislative priorities each year. This process ensures that Alabamians most impacted by poverty have a seat at the table. Below are the priorities that our members selected for 2026.
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Health equity –Alabama should save lives, create jobs and protect rural health care by closing the Medicaid coverage gap and improving access to high-quality maternity care.
Hunger relief – Alabama should help families thrive by ensuring all public schools can offer free school meals for all of their students and by protecting vital nutrition programs.
Adequate state budgets – Strong public services broaden opportunity for all. Alabama should protect funding for public schools and invest in affordable housing and public transportation.
Inclusive democracy – Everyone deserves a say in our democracy. Alabama should allow no-excuse absentee voting and lift barriers to voting rights restoration for disenfranchised people.
Justice reform – Alabama’s justice system should focus on rehabilitation, not cruelty. Our state should stop executing people sentenced to death against a jury’s recommendation. Alabama also needs to reform parole and sentencing.
Tax reform – A more equitable tax system can help struggling people make ends meet. Alabama should untax groceries and ensure fair, sustainable funding for vital services.
Worker power – Alabama should support working people by removing tax incentives from companies that violate child labor laws, extending paid parental leave to more workers and improving safeguards for temp workers.
Hundreds of thousands of Alabamians will face higher health care costs if Congress does not act to extend the Enhanced Premium Tax Credits (ePTCs) that make Healthcare.gov coverage more affordable. These tax credits reduce monthly premiums based on how much money a family makes. That helps families who don’t have access to health insurance through their jobs pay less for their coverage.
The ePTCs have helped hundreds of thousands of families across Alabama access care, fill prescriptions and stay healthy. With open enrollment beginning Saturday, Nov. 1, many Alabamians already have started seeing 2026 premiums that no longer include these extra savings, which are set to expire on Dec. 31, 2025.
Health coverage through Healthcare.gov has made a life-changing difference for families across Alabama. Today, more than 400,000 Alabamians pay lower monthly premiums thanks to these enhanced tax credits.
Why this matters so much in Alabama
Because Alabama has not expanded Medicaid, our state relies heavily on the Healthcare.gov Marketplace to fill the health coverage gap and help working people get the care they need. Losing ePTCs would mean hundreds of thousands of Alabamians could no longer afford coverage. This would widen the gap between those who can see a doctor and those who cannot.
In fact, 51% of Healthcare.gov enrollees in Alabama would qualify for Medicaid if they lived in one of the 40 states that have expanded Medicaid. In the absence of Medicaid expansion, ePTCs are the only realistic path to affordable coverage for these Alabamians.
Almost all Marketplace enrollees in Alabama (98%)receive ePTCs to help afford their monthly premiums.
Without these credits, average Marketplace premiums in Alabama will increase by 93%. This would nearly double the cost for many working families already struggling to make ends meet.
This loss of coverage could cost Alabama$1.14 billion in economic activity and 10,000 jobs in 2026.
Who would be hit the hardest
Small business owners and self-employed workers.More than 65,000 Alabamians in this group rely on Marketplace coverage.
Older adults and families with modest incomes. A 60-year-old Alabama couple making $85,000 could see annual premiums for a standard plan jump from $6,970 to more than $27,000.
Households with low incomes. Individuals earning around $16,000 or families of four earning around $33,000 could be priced out of coverage entirely.
What to know for 2026 open enrollment
Open enrollment for Healthcare.gov plans runs from Nov. 1, 2025, through Jan. 15, 2026. This is the time for new and returning enrollees to shop for the coverage that best fits their needs and budgets. There is no one-size-fits-all option, but here are some key things every Alabamian should know:
Choose your plan by Dec. 15 for coverage starting Jan. 1, 2026. You can make changes through Jan. 15 if needed.
Update your information. If you have Healthcare.gov coverage now, review your contact details and income estimate to make sure your plan and tax credits are accurate. If your premium goes up, please let us know about it. We need to document how much costs have risen so we can advocate for you. Visitcoveralabama.org/share or email coveralabama@alarise.org.
Stay informed. If Congress acts to extend ePTCs, premiums may decrease later in open enrollment, so check back in December for updates. Even if Congress does not extend ePTCs, most Marketplace consumers still will receive some level of help in 2026. But this amount likely will be far less than participants may have received before.
Get free local help. Talk to a navigator with Enroll Alabama for trusted, no-cost enrollment assistance. Navigators can help you compare plans, understand your options and sign up for coverage. Visit EnrollALA.com or call 844-248-7698.
Beware of junk insurance plans. Plans sold outside Healthcare.gov, such as short-term, association or health-sharing plans, may look cheaper, but they often do not cover essential services like prescriptions, mental health, maternity care or hospital stays. They also may not cap your out-of-pocket costs, leaving you exposed to medical debt if you get sick or injured.
What you can do
Alabamians should not have to choose between health care and basic needs. Extending the ePTCs would protect coverage for more than 400,000 Alabamians and help keep health care costs down for everyone.
You can help protect affordable coverage and make your voice heard:
Check your coverage at Healthcare.gov when open enrollment begins. See how your premiums are changing and share what you find with us at coveralabama.org/share.
Help others during the federal government shutdown. Right now, bad actors are hoping that people receiving food assistance under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and health coverage through the Marketplace will turn against each other. Show solidarity with others impacted by our lawmakers’ failures.
Tell the USDA to fund SNAP benefits for November in full for every eligible participant.
People should not have to choose between food, health care and other basic needs. But the White House’s decision to delay issuing food assistance benefits means millions of struggling families are about to be forced to make exactly that choice as the holidays approach.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) last week officially notified Alabama and other states that it would not issue food assistance benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) at the beginning of November. These benefits, which for now are 100% federally funded, are sometimes referred to as food stamps. The Department of Human Resources (DHR) confirmed Monday that SNAP participants in Alabama will see their benefits delayed.
More than 750,000 Alabamians – 1 in 7 people in our state – participate in SNAP. Nearly 40% of SNAP participants are children, according to the Food Research and Action Center. Alabama provided an average of $194 each in SNAP assistance to each participant in July. That means an average Alabama family of three participating in SNAP will lose nearly $600 next month.
Withholding these benefits will increase hunger and hardship across our state. It also could be financially devastating for grocery stores and other retailers, especially those serving large numbers of SNAP participants.
What SNAP participants should know
SNAP benefits still could be released later in November, either because the USDA changes its policy or because the budget standoff is resolved. If that happens, DHR will try to get November food assistance out as quickly as possible. But delays may occur, especially for people who get money added to their SNAP EBT cards early in the month.
If you are a SNAP participant, you still should be able to spend any money you already have on your EBT card after Nov. 1. But you will not see any additional money added to the card in November (or until this situation is resolved).
If you are scheduled to recertify your eligibility in November or to submit any paperwork to DHR, you should do that to avoid any further delays. And if you believe you are eligible for SNAP, you should go ahead and apply now. DHR is still processing applications, and eligible applicants will receive SNAP benefits retroactively to the date they applied once this situation is resolved.
USDA can and should fund SNAP benefits for November
The USDA is using SNAP as a bargaining chip in the debate over the federal budget. The agency blames its decision to delay November SNAP benefits on the federal government shutdown. But the truth is that the USDA maintains a SNAP contingency fund with enough money in it to cover most of the November benefits for the entire country.
The USDA already has dipped into some of its reserve funds to help farmers during the shutdown. While we support our farmers, we also support helping hungry families, especially with Thanksgiving approaching. Some states are scrambling to find enough state money to cover SNAP benefits through November. But the USDA has announced that, unlike in previous shutdowns and unlike for other federal programs, it will not reimburse states for any money spent for food assistance.
How you can fight hunger and speak out for change
Donate to a food bank or food pantry. Hunger is about to soar due to the SNAP benefit delay. Please consider generously donating to your local food bank or food pantry. Unlike most shoppers, food banks buy food in bulk and at a discount, so financial gifts can feed far more people than direct gifts of food. But food banks and food pantries appreciate every donation and will use them to help our neighbors and communities.
Demand action from your federal officials. Food banks play an essential role in relieving hunger, but they cannot replace SNAP. The USDA’s decision to delay November SNAP benefits will increase hardship for families across our country. This policy also is a part of an effort to pressure Congress to discontinue enhanced premium tax credits that make Marketplace health coverage more affordable for millions of Americans, including nearly 500,000 Alabamians.
You can speak out now to help protect food assistance and health care access for people across Alabama:
People and families need both food and health care. No one should have to make a choice between seeing a doctor and keeping food on the table, and Congress should support both food assistance and affordable health insurance.
Angel Garrett spends many mornings at Alice Circle, a local cafe, bookstore and gift shop in her native Fort Payne. She is an outspoken advocate for protecting health coverage in Alabama. (Photo by Whit Sides)
Angel Garrett has friends everywhere she goes.
As she sat down in a local coffee shop to share her story, she greeted three friends visiting from the local Arc chapter. The Arc is a nationwide community-based organization that advocates for and with people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
“I used to work there,” Angel said. “But now I can’t work as much or it affects my Medicaid waiver.”
Angel, 37, is a writer from DeKalb County in northeast Alabama. She was born with a rare condition called schizencephaly, which has affected her development and speech. After high school, Angel followed her passion for language to Birmingham, where she earned a degree in creative writing with a minor in sociology from UAB.
“Though I was very shy until I was 22, I have always had that voice inside that I was fortunate enough to develop,” she said. “Eventually, I gained the confidence to speak, and unlucky for everyone else, I haven’t shut up since.”
Angel’s adept ability to communicate and connect with people have opened many doors in her life. She now serves as an advocate for the Governor’s Office on Disability.
I first met Angel when she was taking the stage at the Fort Payne Opera House earlier this summer. Cover Alabama and the Progressive Women’s Action Coalition invited her to a town hall to share her experience with navigating Medicaid while living with a disability. She did so in a powerful way.
“People are surprised when I say it, but I consider myself lucky to be disabled,” she said.
The life-altering threats that federal cuts pose
Angel’s experiences have forged her into a fierce advocate of programs that have allowed her not just to have daily necessities, but also to maintain a high level of independence.
“I’m lucky because I’m a disabled person in the United States of America. I’m afforded the grace and opportunities to have my basic needs met. I’m given access to health care,” she said. “I qualify for programs like SNAP, LIHEAP and other forms of assistance that offer me peace and stability so I can live as healthily as possible.”
SNAP is the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which provides food assistance for tens of millions of Americans, including 1 in 7 Alabamians. LIHEAP is the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, which helps households with low incomes afford heating and cooling bills.
Both programs face substantial federal cuts under HR 1 – the so-called One Big Beautiful Bill Act – which was enacted into law in July. So does Medicaid, which provides health coverage for 1 in 5 Alabamians, mostly children, older adults, and people with disabilities.
Since HR 1 passed, Angel said people often ask what her life would be like without Medicaid. Without it, she said, she wouldn’t be able to get the care she needs to maintain her health and mobility.
“I wouldn’t be able to go to therapy every week,” she said. “I wouldn’t be able to get my medications, procedures, support, help, food, supplies or any other things that assist my quality of life.”
Advocating for herself and others
Angel said she recently has had issues with being reimbursed for out-of-pocket costs, including transportation to her doctor’s appointments. Medicaid offers many important services, and she said she knows states like Alabama stand to lose when budgets are cut.
“The non-emergency transportation program is supposed to reimburse my trips. I qualify now since my Medicaid waiver got approved. However, it isn’t a seamless process,” she said. “I haven’t had any luck coming up with a solution even though I’ve talked to both Medicaid and Medicare.”
Angel Garrett said she began finding her voice to advocate for Alabamians with disabilities at age 22. “I haven’t shut up since,” she said. (Photo by Whit Sides)
The unmet health care needs don’t stop there. Angel said she hears stories from the community about procedures being denied and about coverage losses for children with autism. She said she also believes dental care should be included with Medicaid and all other health coverage.
“I’m lucky enough to have dental coverage,” she said. “I feel like oral health is one of the most important factors in overall wellness, and Medicaid should cover that.”
While Medicaid always has had room for improvement, Angel said, any new cuts would be life-altering for Alabamians like her. She said she will continue to speak out about how vital Medicaid is for her life and her future.
“I feel that I would be wasting my life — and my mind, my thoughts, my voice — if I didn’t fight for what I have,” Angel said. “It’s disheartening that instead of fighting for expanding the programs that help people like me, I am having to speak up to protect and just keep the programs that allow myself and so many others to live. Not even live independently, but simply just live.”
‘Progression, not regression’
Medicaid provides essential protections for people whose voices often go unheard in policy debates, Angel said. She said she feels the program should aim for abundance and not austerity.
“Oftentimes, people with disabilities are infantilized. Not every person with a disability has a voice to say what they need,” she said. “It has always been a goal of mine to help progress the quality of life for people like me. Progression, not regression.”
Angel Garrett is a writer who lives in DeKalb County and is an advocate for the Governor’s Office on Disability. Angel has schizencephaly, which has affected her development and speech. But the condition has not deterred her from speaking out about Medicaid’s vital importance for the lives and futures of her fellow Alabamians with disabilities. (Photo by Whit Sides)
As she alludes to with her “lucky to be disabled” mantra, Angel said she believes she often “turns lemons into lemonade” to help ensure she is not the only one to benefit from her advocacy.
“Because of my disability, people don’t take me as seriously as I need them to until I’m raising hell, cussing or flipping metaphorical tables,” she said. “However, I’ll continue to flip as many tables as I need to just to make a difference when things like Medicaid are on the line. I will leave this world better than I found it.”
About Alabama Arise and Cover Alabama
Whit Sides is the storyteller forAlabama Arise, a statewide, member-led organization advancing public policies to improve the lives of Alabamians who are marginalized by poverty. Arise’s membership includes faith-based, community, nonprofit and civic groups, grassroots leaders and individuals from across Alabama. Email: whit@alarise.org.
Arise is a founding member of the Cover Alabama coalition.Cover Alabama is a nonpartisan alliance of advocacy groups, businesses, community organizations, consumer groups, health care providers and religious congregations advocating for Alabama to provide quality, affordable health coverage to its residents and implement a sustainable health care system.
Expanding health care access and improving maternal and infant health will remain top goals on Alabama Arise’s 2026 legislative agenda. The organization also will continue advocating for state funds to help public schools provide free school meals to every student.
Nearly 600 members voted in the last week to affirm Arise’s legislative priorities. The seven priorities chosen were:
Health equity, including policies to close Alabama’s health coverage gap for adults with low incomes and to protect access to maternity care.
Hunger relief, including legislation to allow more public schools to provide no-cost breakfast and lunch for all of their students.
Adequate state budgets, including equitable public education funding for every student and state funding for affordable housing and public transportation.
Inclusive democracy, including no-excuse early voting and removal of barriers to voting rights restoration for disenfranchised Alabamians.
Justice reform, including legislation to apply Alabama’s ban on judicial override of jury sentencing decisions in death penalty cases retroactively, as well as improvements to the state’s sentencing and parole systems.
Tax reform to build a more just and sustainable revenue system, including eliminating the rest of Alabama’s state sales tax on groceries and replacing the revenue equitably.
Worker power to advance the health and safety of Alabama families, including legislation to remove tax incentives from companies that violate child labor laws, as well as efforts to extend paid parental leave protections to more workers.
“Alabama Arise believes in dignity, equity and justice for everyone,” Alabama Arise executive director Robyn Hyden said. “Our legislative priorities seek to empower Alabamians of every race, income and background to reach their full potential. And they reflect our members’ commitment to building a healthier, more just and more inclusive Alabama for all.”
The urgent need to close Alabama’s coverage gap and protect affordable Marketplace plans
Arise members believe Medicaid expansion is a path toward a healthier future where all Alabamians can afford the health care they need. Expanding Medicaid would reduce racial health disparities and remove financial barriers to health care for adults with low incomes. Expansion also would support thousands of new jobs across the state. And most importantly, it would save hundreds of lives every year.
Alabama is one of only 10 states yet to expand Medicaid. Medicaid expansion would ensure health coverage for nearly 200,000 Alabamians caught in a coverage gap. Most of these residents earn too much to qualify for the state’s bare-bones Medicaid program but too little to afford private plans.
The number of Alabamians in the coverage gap could soar in 2026 if Congress fails to renew enhanced Premium Tax Credits for Marketplace plans under the Affordable Care Act. If lawmakers allow the credits to expire, about 130,000 Alabamians would lose their health coverage, and premiums for many others would nearly double.
“Everyone should be able to get the health care they need when they need it,” Hyden said. “Congress must act quickly to protect affordable Marketplace coverage for hundreds of thousands of Alabamians. And our state policymakers need to step up to close Alabama’s health coverage gap once and for all. This investment would pay off in the form of healthier families and stronger economic growth in communities across our state.”
No-cost school meals help Alabama children learn and thrive
Another key step toward a healthier Alabama is to ensure every public school can offer no-cost meals to every student. Hundreds of Alabama schools provide no-cost meals through the Community Eligibility Provision, but some schools cannot participate in the program.
Arise will advocate for additional state funding that local districts can use to match federal funds to offer no-cost meals. Legislators this year approved $17.3 million to expand school breakfast and continue Alabama’s participation in SUN Bucks, which provides $40 in food benefits per summer month for hundreds of thousands of Alabama children.
Stronger investment in school meals is more urgent amid threats to federal funding for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) and cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Alabama and other states could run out of money for WIC in a few weeks if Congress does not renew its funding. And the federal budget law enacted in July will make fewer people eligible for SNAP while shifting more costs to states.
Children and communities across Alabama would enjoy immediate and long-term benefits from no-cost meals in public schools. No-cost meals would reduce child hunger in a state where nearly 1 in 4 children face food insecurity. Extending the reach of school meal programs would help reduce behavioral problems and improve attendance and test scores. Reducing food insecurity for children also can help improve their mental health and overall health as teenagers and adults.
“It’s hard for children to focus in school when they’re hungry,” Hyden said. “Lawmakers should ensure that WIC and SNAP continue to provide food assistance for families across our state. And our legislators should invest in no-cost school meals to reduce hunger and help every Alabama child succeed both in the classroom and throughout their lives.”
By Carol Gundlach, senior policy analyst, and Debbie Smith, Cover Alabama campaign director
While many Alabamians were celebrating July 4, Congress passed a sweeping budget reconciliation law that will hurt families across the country. To extend more than $1 trillion of tax cuts for the richest Americans, Congress slashed health care, food assistance and other vital services for ordinary people.
“It’s wrong to hurt people who are struggling to help people who are already far ahead,” Alabama Arise executive director Robyn Hyden said after the bill’s passage. “But Congress just passed legislation that will do exactly that. This budget bill is not only a moral failure. It’s bad policy, and it is a really bad deal for Alabama and our entire country.”
The biggest cuts nationally will be to Medicaid and to food assistance under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Alabama has not yet expanded Medicaid to cover adults with low incomes, but the harmful new budget law will make it harder for our state to improve and expand health care access. And the law’s SNAP cuts and barriers will increase hunger and hardship across Alabama.
SNAP cuts will make it harder to make ends meet
The SNAP cuts will threaten Alabama’s ability to fund essential state services. They also will impose red-tape barriers for SNAP participants and reduce the future buying power of SNAP.
Threats to state budgets: Beginning in 2026, the Alabama Legislature will have to appropriate an estimated $35 million a year in new funding for SNAP administration. Beginning in 2027, the Legislature also may have to appropriate an estimated $172 million annually in new funding to help cover SNAP benefits, which have been fully federally funded for decades. If Alabama lawmakers cannot or will not provide the required state share of funding, the state would have to reduce the number of SNAP participants or opt out of the program entirely. Eliminating SNAP would end food assistance for more than 750,000 Alabamians and send hunger rates soaring in a state where 1 in 4 children already struggle with food insecurity.
Changes that place time limits on more people who receive SNAP: Many older adults, families with teen children, veterans, people who are experiencing homelessness and young adults who were in foster care may face burdensome new work reporting requirements to receive food assistance. And beginning immediately, many people who are legally in the United States as refugees, asylum seekers or victims of domestic violence or sexual assault may no longer be eligible for SNAP.
Changes that likely will reduce the amount of SNAP assistance over time: The new law prohibits the federal government from making substantive changes to the USDA’s Thrifty Food Plan, on which the amount of SNAP benefits is based. This change will reduce the value of SNAP assistance over time.
Health care cuts will increase human suffering
Reconciliation cuts to Medicaid primarily targeted states that had expanded Medicaid, but the bill also will make it harder for Alabama to improve our Medicaid program. The law also failed to renew subsidies that make health coverage more affordable for hundreds of thousands of Alabamians.
The laweliminates key financial incentives that encouraged Alabama and other states to expand Medicaid. We no longer will be eligible for $619 million in additional federal funding on top of the 90% federal match, which would have helped pay for the startup costs of Medicaid expansion.
The law also includesrestrictions on provider taxes — a key tool Alabama uses to help fund its share of Medicaid. This will make it more difficult for Alabama to expand coverage going forward and could put a long-term limit on how our state finances Medicaid as health care costs rise.
Congress also failed to renewenhanced tax credits that have made Marketplace plans under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) more affordable since 2021. These subsidies have helped hundreds of thousands of Alabamians lower their monthly premiums. Now, those enhanced subsidies are going away at the end of 2025.
The cuts to healthcare.gov tax credits mean that Alabamians’ monthly premiums will increase and fewer people will qualify for financial help. About 130,000 Alabamians are expected to lose coverage because of these changes.
Where we go from here
Arise is taking numerous steps in response to this law’s passage. These actions include:
Analyzing the law’s long-term impact on SNAP, Medicaid and ACA financing.
Creating resources for partners, community organizations and the public to explain the changes and what they mean.
Meeting with state and local leaders to discuss options and ensure they understand the financial and human stakes of these changes.
Even in the face of harmful federal policies, Arise’s commitment to the people of Alabama remains strong. We are working every day to protect access to food and health care and make sure families have the information and support they need.
After years of advocacy, Alabama Arise and our partners secured several huge victories for low-income and working people at the State House this year! These legislative wins included:
An additional reduction of the state grocery tax.
A law removing the state sales tax on many women’s health products, maternity care items and baby care items.
The first-ever state appropriation to expand no-cost school breakfast.
Continued funding for Summer EBT, known as SUN Bucks.
Guaranteed paid parental leave for all state employees and teachers.
Improved health care access through the Alabama Maternal Health Act.
Reforms to the state’s funding formula for K-12 schools through the RAISE Act.
In most years, we would be celebrating the passage of just one of these bills, let alone seven. We also successfully opposed several bills targeting people participating in safety net programs like SNAP, Medicaid and unemployment insurance. And we successfully opposed some of the bills attacking our immigrant neighbors.
Our wins at the State House show that solidarity works. Multi-issue advocacy works. Long-term investment in power-building and community organizing, focused on engaging everyday people, is effective.
But even as we celebrate these victories, we see that our idea of an inclusive democracy is under threat. Bills attacking immigrants and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) have been passed and implemented. These measures use a time-tested “divide and conquer” approach to try to make working-class people turn against each other instead of uniting around their common interests.
The passage of a cruel federal budget law has challenged our collective hopes for our country. This legislation could throw a major wrench in our plans to expand health coverage and alleviate hunger. And it could undermine our efforts to build a more progressive tax system, a more responsive government and a more inclusive democracy.
Looking ahead to 2026 and beyond, we have a lot of work to do to defend and expand our democracy to be “responsive, inclusive and justice-serving,” as we say in Arise’s vision for an Alabama “where all people live with concern for the common good and respect for the humanity of every person.”
We need your support now more than ever. When the history of these times is written, Arise members will be those who were working on the side of dignity, equity and justice, for all of us. Thank you for standing with us.
The clock is ticking: Enhanced Marketplace subsidies expire this year!
The enhanced Advance Premium Tax Credits (APTCs) that have made health insurance more affordable for hundreds of thousands of Alabamians are set to expire at the end of 2025. If Congress doesn’t act now, premiums for families, small business owners and people who buy their own insurance will skyrocket — forcing many to give up their high-quality health coverage and leaving many of them uninsured.
Since 2021, these expanded subsidies have helped more than 300,000 additional Alabamians enroll in coverage through the Health Insurance Marketplace (healthcare.gov) created under the Affordable Care Act. They’ve also helped reduce the burden of unpaid medical bills on hospitals and providers. Without action, we risk reversing this progress. Congress must act NOW to keep coverage affordable and accessible for all.
The average Marketplace premium in Alabama will increase by 93%. That’s nearly double the cost for working families already struggling to make ends meet.
130,000 Alabamians could lose health insurance if the enhanced subsidies expire.
Small business owners and self-employed Alabamians: More than 65,000 receive their health coverage through the Marketplace.
Older adults and families with lower incomes would bear the brunt of skyrocketing premiums. For example, a 60-year-old Alabama couple making $82,000 would see their annual premiums for a benchmark plan increase from $6,970 to more than $27,267.
Households earning as little as $15,650 per year for an individual or $32,000 per year for a family of four could be priced out of coverage altogether.
Congress must act NOW
Enhanced APTCs must be extended to protect affordable health coverage for hundreds of thousands of Alabamians. Sign our petition to members of Alabama’s congressional delegation to demand they extend enhanced premium tax credits.
La sesión legislativa de 2025 se terminó oficialmente, y fue atareada y productiva. El personal, los socios y los miembros de Arise trabajaron arduamente para mejorar la vida de gente que llega justo a fin de mes, mientras se protegían también los derechos de los alabamienses atacados por personas con agendas políticas retrógradas.
Hicimos un gran progreso hacia una Alabama mejor y más inclusiva. Y, aunque no ganamos todas las batallas, juntos nos mantuvimos firmes para quienes son más vulnerables. Militamos con éxito por leyes nuevas que mejorarán vidas. Estas políticas harán lo siguiente:
Hacer más asequibles los productos básicos para todos los alabamienses al reducir el impuesto estatal a los alimentos (¡otra vez!)
Aumentar el acceso a los alimentos en las escuelas al asegurar mayor financiación en nuestro presupuesto educativo para programas de desayuno gratuito en las escuelas públicas.
Facilitar que las personas embarazadas en Alabama obtengan pruebas prenatales al quitar obstáculos relacionados con la regla de “elegibilidad presunta” de Medicaid.
Asegurar que más padres y madres puedan atender a sus nuevas familias al asegurar una nueva política de licencia por maternidad/paternidad para maestros, trabajadores de programas universitarios de dos años y empleados estatales.
Disminuir el costo de vida para las familias al eliminar los impuestos de venta estatales para artículos esenciales como pañales, suministros para bebés, productos de higiene menstrual y ropa de maternidad.
La lucha no termina aquí. Debemos aprovechar esta energía a medida que nos dirigimos a la sesión de 2026. ¡Visite alarise.org para sumarse a la lucha y hacer oír su voz!
The federal One Big Beautiful Bill Act does not immediately cut or end food assistance benefits for people who now receive them. People who are now getting food assistance under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) should continue receiving their monthly benefits normally for the foreseeable future, just as they have in the past. But the law likely will harm many participants and strain state budgets in coming years.
The act includes three major types of changes to SNAP. An overview of each category is below.
1. Changes that affect state budgets
Beginning in the 2026 regular session, the Alabama Legislature will have to appropriate an estimated $35 million in new funding for SNAP administration. This is because the act will require states to cover 75% of SNAP administrative costs, up from the current 50%.
Beginning in the 2027 regular session, the Alabama Legislature will have to appropriate an estimated $172 million in new funding for SNAP benefits. This amount could be smaller or larger each year based on annual changes in the state’s SNAP “error rate,” which includes both overpayments and underpayments of SNAP benefits. The error rate is not a measurement of fraud.
The act includes a sliding scale that requires states to pay for anywhere from 0% to 15% of SNAP benefits, depending on the state’s SNAP error rate. Based on Alabama’s most recent error rate, the state would have to cover 10% of the cost of SNAP benefits, or roughly $172 million.
If Alabama lawmakers could not or would not provide the required state share of funding, the state would have to reduce the number of SNAP participants or opt out of the program entirely. Eliminating SNAP would end food assistance for more than 750,000 Alabamians who participate in the program.
Deep SNAP cuts like those would send hunger rates soaring in a state where roughly 1 in 6 people – including nearly 1 in 4 children – already struggle with food insecurity, meaning they do not always have enough to eat or know where they are going to get their next meal.
Severe SNAP cuts also could be financially devastating for many grocery stores and other retailers. If those stores responded to the revenue loss by shutting down or reducing their hours of operation, that would decrease food access in communities across our state, particularly in rural areas.
2. Changes that place new requirements and limits on more people who participate in SNAP
Many veterans, people who are experiencing homelessness and young adults who were in foster care as children may have to comply with work reporting requirements.
Adults in a household with children aged 14 or older may have to comply with work reporting requirements. We don’t know exactly when this change will happen, but people who will be affected will get notice and an opportunity to ask for an exemption.
People who are between ages 55 and 64 may have to comply with work reporting requirements. We don’t know exactly when this change will happen, but people who will be affected will get notice and an opportunity to ask for an exemption.
Some people between 60 and 65 who have received special SNAP benefits for older adults under the Alabama Elderly Simplified Application Project (AESAP) may face additional barriers to participation.
Many people who are legally in the United States as refugees or asylum seekers may no longer be eligible for SNAP. We don’t know exactly when this change will happen, but people in these categories who are participating in SNAP now should continue to get their benefits until notified of a change.
3. Changes that likely will reduce the amount of SNAP assistance over time
The law will prohibit the federal government from changing the amount of SNAP assistance by updating the USDA’s “Thrifty Food Plan,” except to keep up with inflation. The Thrifty Food Plan is used as the basis for determining SNAP benefit amounts each year. This change will reduce SNAP assistance over time but won’t affect current benefit levels.
