Medicaid Expansion

Alabama Arise is proud to be a member of the Cover Alabama Coalition, a group of advocates, businesses, faith leaders and health care professionals making the case for Medicaid expansion. Click here to learn more about Cover Alabama.

Hundreds of thousands of Alabama adults have no health coverage. Tens of thousands of them suffer daily because they can't afford treatment for chronic health conditions like cancer, diabetes or heart disease. Hundreds die every year as a result. Meanwhile, eight rural hospitals have closed in Alabama since 2011, and many others are at risk of the same fate.

Medicaid expansion would reduce human suffering and strengthen Alabama's health care system. It would save lives and deliver financial peace of mind to families who desperately need it. And it would create jobs and generate tax revenues by pumping billions of federal dollars into the state's economy. Arise's research reveals why Medicaid expansion is the right choice for Alabama from economic, health and moral standpoints.

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
Personal Stories

Medicaid helped save her daughter’s life. Angelica wants it to be there for other Alabamians, too

Angelica is outspoken about the misconceptions and stigmas that often surround federal programs serving Alabama families. She said that in the past, more than half of her paycheck would be spent on private insurance.

Issues
Health, Medicaid Expansion
Date
June 2, 2025
Author
Whit Sides
Resources

HB 177: A case study in Alabama Arise advocacy

Alabama Arise successfully leapt into action this year to defend health coverage for thousands of children across our state.

Issues
Health, Medicaid Expansion
Date
May 29, 2025
Author
Whitney Washington
Personal Stories

Medicaid Expansion Advocacy Day – Feb. 25, 2025

Alabama Arise and Cover Alabama joined with the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network to host a Medicaid Expansion Advocacy Day on Feb. 25 in Montgomery. Nearly 100 passionate supporters came to the State House to speak out in defense of Medicaid and the urgent need to close Alabama’s health coverage gap. As federal threats [...]
Issue
Medicaid Expansion
Date
March 3, 2025
Author
Alabama Arise
Fact Sheet

Vote ‘No’ on SB 84 and HB 477: Junk health plans are not the solution for Alabama’s health coverage gap

Junk health plans lack basic consumer protections. SB 84 and HB 477 would allow a “nonprofit agricultural organization” to offer unregulated health plans to its members in Alabama. The bill explicitly says these benefits would “not [be] provided through an insurance policy.” Unlike health insurance sold by other carriers, plans like the ones offered under [...]
Issue
Medicaid Expansion
Date
February 21, 2025
Author
Alabama Arise
Personal Stories

‘It shouldn’t be like this’

“If working people could get the coverage they deserve, we wouldn’t even be where we are now. Here in the Black Belt, or anywhere else.”

Issues
Health, Medicaid Expansion
Date
January 15, 2025
Author
Whit Sides
Personal Stories

‘I just want to go to the doctor’

“I get these bills in the mail, and it’s so much stress. I don’t like owing people money. So I just don’t get help even when I’m in pain.”

Issues
Health, Medicaid Expansion
Date
January 15, 2025
Author
Whit Sides
Personal Stories

‘Coverage needs to be affordable for everyone’

Valerie is disabled, living without health coverage in rural Wilcox County. After 30 surgeries, she’s got thousands of dollars in medical debt.

Issues
Health, Medicaid Expansion
Date
January 15, 2025
Author
Whit Sides