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 to Medicaid persist, advocates stressed that expansion is essential both to cover more people and to protect against harmful cuts. Many described the devastation of losing Medicaid coverage and falling into the gap – earning too much to qualify for traditional Medicaid but too little to receive tax credits for private coverage.
Camden resident Kiana George and Birmingham resident Angelica McCain told their personal stories of how the coverage gap has affected their lives. Their testimonies, as well as those from faith leaders, business owners and others, highlighted the urgent need for expansion to ensure everyone has access to care. Thank you to everyone who showed up, spoke out and made a difference. Your voices matter, and we are making progress together.
[Voiceover] Alabama Arise and Cover Alabama joined with the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network to host a Medicaid expansion advocacy day on Tuesday, February 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. Several people spoke about the devastating experience of losing Medicaid coverage and falling into the gap — earning too much to qualify for Medicaid but too little to receive federal tax credits to help pay for health coverage. Their testimonies underscored the urgent need for Alabama to expand Medicaid so everyone can get the health care they need to survive and thrive.
[Debbie Smith] I’m here with many advocates from across the state to ask the Legislature and Gov. Ivey to close the coverage gap and expand Medicaid. Right now, around 200,000 of our friends, neighbors and family members are caught in the Medicaid coverage gap. They work hard — taking care of our children, serving our food, stocking our grocery store shelves — but they can’t afford to see a doctor when they’re sick. And when they can’t get the care they need, it doesn’t just hurt them, it hurts all of us. When people don’t have health coverage, they aren’t able to see a doctor for regular checkups or early treatment. That means preventable conditions turn into expensive emergencies.
[Kiana George] Hello, I’m Kiana George from Camden, Alabama, or as they call it, Wilcox County. My story is pretty simple. I lost coverage back in September 2023 when they did the whole [unwinding], and then I’ve been basically fighting for my life ever since. I’ve always had blood pressure issues since around 2015-2016. I called Medicaid, and they told me because I made more than $295 a month, that I didn’t qualify. And then I called the Marketplace, and I don’t make enough money to get an insurance plan. So what am I supposed to do? I started getting bills in the mail, and that discouraged me from going to the doctor because if I’m already in debt, I can’t pay you. If I don’t have the money for insurance, I don’t have the money to pay you for not having insurance. I stopped taking my medicine last year because it was making me sick, but I was too scared to go back to the doctor to get it changed because I thought they were going to make me pay for it. And after that — not a good idea. Because guess who ended up a month after turning 30, in ICU in the hospital with stroke-level blood pressure. I did. As a matter of fact, while Jackson was boycotting outside, I was inside the hospital. In ICU.
And didn’t even know it. I would really, really appreciate all the lawmakers, all the legislators, the governor… anybody. I have a 9-year-old. I want to see my baby grow up. If I don’t have coverage, I’m not going to be able to live. Thank y’all.
[Angelica McCain] I’m Angelica. I came down here from Birmingham. My story starts at birth. I was on Medicaid as a baby. When my parents first moved here, my mom worked three jobs while my dad didn’t work at all. Medicaid was the only way we survived as children. Fast forward 18 years, 19, I get dropped. I start working in the service industry. If you’re familiar with the service industry, they are not legally required to offer health insurance to anyone, so if you make your career in the service industry, you’re not going to get health insurance unless you pay an arm and a leg for it. So, ultimately, I resulted in having to get Medicaid for my daughters as they were born. Medicaid would only cover me while I was pregnant, and that was it. They cover my children now. It’s confusing for me about why they will cover my children to be born but they will not cover me to continue to be healthy, to be alive for them. On top of that, my 9-year-old was diagnosed with a soccer-ball-sized tumor last summer in her right ovary. And thankfully for Medicaid, I didn’t have to pay $200,000 for her to have her surgery. That was a really difficult time, and then also having to fight for that coverage for my children to live… It just doesn’t seem humane in a lot of ways. And a lot of people are having to fight just to provide for their children. We shouldn’t have to fight this hard for it. We’re just hoping Alabama can cover the Medicaid gap and help everybody actually just be able to exist healthily.
[David Silverstein] I’m a businessman from Birmingham. Why am I here? For two reasons. One, because I believe we can do better as a state. I’d love for my children and my children’s children to stay in the state and make it a better place to live, and work, and raise a family. But think of this: If we expanded Medicaid, it would have close to a $2 billion positive economic impact on this state. Think about that. Our rural hospitals would have a chance to survive.
[Smith] Alabama is losing billions of dollars that could have been invested in our health care system. It’s time to stop pointing fingers and start leading. The time for excuses is over. The time for action is now. Let’s expand Medicaid. Let’s save lives. Let’s cover Alabama.