Health

No one should have to go without the medical care they need simply because they can’t afford it. Investments in Medicaid, ALL Kids, mental health care and other health services help Alabamians stay healthy and productive, and they lay the foundation for a future where all of our residents have a chance to thrive, regardless of their income or background.

Arise works to identify and eliminate the structural barriers that prevent many of our friends and neighbors across the state from accessing the health care they need. We examine how a variety of policy solutions, including Medicaid expansion, would help break down those walls and strengthen the health care infrastructure on which all Alabamians rely.

Featured Resources

Fact Sheet

Closing the health coverage gap: Alabama must enact policies to save lives

By Jennifer Harris, senior health policy advocate, and Debbie Smith, Cover Alabama campaign director As Alabama enters the 2026 legislative session, Medicaid expansion and maternal health will be central to the state’s health equity conversations. Recent federal policy changes have made these conversations more urgent and more complex. Alabama Arise will continue to support health [...]
Issues
Health, Medicaid Expansion
Date
January 13, 2026
Author
Alabama Arise
Resources

Building on our momentum for the new year

As we close out 2025, Arise members and member organizations can reflect on a very successful year. Reducing the state sales tax on groceries from 3% to 2% and guaranteeing more students in public schools get a free breakfast with a $7.3 million budget appropriation were two of the biggest highlights worth celebrating.  Improvements were [...]
Issues
Budgets, Criminal Justice, Health, Tax Reform, Other Issues, Economic Opportunity, Voting Rights
Date
December 19, 2025
Author
David Stout
Resources

Las prioridades legislativas de Alabama Arise para 2026

Más de 150 grupos miembros de Alabama Arise y más de 1,500 miembros individuales eligen todos los años nuestras prioridades legislativas. Este proceso garantiza que los habitantes de Alabama más afectados por la pobreza participen de las decisiones. A continuación se enumeran las prioridades que nuestros miembros eligieron para 2025. Para obtener una versión de este [...]
Issues
Budgets, Criminal Justice, Health, Public Transportation, Safety Net, Tax Reform, Other Issues, Economic Opportunity, Voting Rights, Coronavirus, Medicaid Expansion
Date
December 18, 2025
Author
Alabama Arise
Member Resources

Alabama Arise 2026 legislative priorities

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. For a PDF version of this document, click here or click the [...]
Issues
Budgets, Criminal Justice, Health, Housing, Public Transportation, Safety Net, Tax Reform, Other Issues, Economic Opportunity, Voting Rights, Medicaid Expansion
Date
November 4, 2025
Author
Alabama Arise
Personal Stories

‘I will leave this world better than I found it’

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.

Issue
Health
Date
October 21, 2025
Author
Whit Sides
Fact Sheet

Alabamians’ health care costs will soar in 2026 if Congress doesn’t act now

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 [...]
Issue
Health
Date
August 15, 2025
Author
Debbie Smith
Fact Sheet

What we know about the SNAP changes in the new federal budget law

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 [...]
Issues
Budgets, Health, Safety Net
Date
July 9, 2025
Author
Carol Gundlach
Fact Sheet

What we know about the health care changes in the new federal budget law

While many Alabamians were preparing for the July 4 holiday, Congress passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act — a sweeping federal budget law with serious consequences for families across the country, including right here in Alabama. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities put it plainly: “House and Senate Republicans have now passed a [...]
Issues
Budgets, Health, Medicaid Expansion
Date
July 8, 2025
Author
Debbie Smith
Personal Stories

Virginia wants you to join her in protecting health coverage in Alabama

Virginia would say things have been going well since moving back home to Birmingham a year ago – steady even. She said consistency has been key in staying healthy when life takes on unexpected changes.

And Virginia has had to navigate some unexpected changes recently. 

Issues
Budgets, Health, Tax Reform, Medicaid Expansion
Date
June 23, 2025
Author
Whit Sides
Fact Sheet

Federal budget bill threatens health coverage for 190,000 Alabamians

A bill passed by the U.S. House would put the health of thousands of Alabamians — and the state’s fragile health care system — at serious risk. Here is what’s at stake for Alabama: 190,000 Alabamians could lose coverage The bill would make cuts to Medicaid and would raise premiums through the Health Insurance Marketplace. [...]
Issues
Budgets, Health, Medicaid Expansion
Date
June 10, 2025
Author
Debbie Smith
All Issue Resources

Issue Expert

Jennifer Harris

Senior Health Policy Advocate
Email

Debbie Smith

Cover Alabama Campaign Director
Email

The Latest on this Issue

Arise legislative update: Week of Jan. 19, 2026
Arise 2026: How we’re working to build a better Alabama
Closing the health coverage gap: Alabama must enact policies to save lives
Building on our momentum for the new year
Long federal road ahead for SNAP, health care