Alabamians often are surprised to learn that Medicaid is a major engine for the state’s economy. Medicaid creates thousands of jobs, supports rural hospitals and the state’s only children’s hospital, pays for medical equipment that all patients use, boosts tax revenue in local communities and enhances our quality of life. Medicaid touches the lives of average Alabamians who never need the agency’s services themselves.

Alabama Medicaid is in the bull’s-eye for cuts as the Legislature looks to balance the FY 2013 General Fund budget in the face of a revenue shortfall. This fact sheet examines what’s at stake in the Medicaid budget challenge.