Opinion | Why Alabama and 9 Other States Should Expand Medicaid – By Rotimi Kukoyi (Common Dreams) / Nov 8, 2023
Expanding Medicaid could improve health outcomes, bring economic benefits, and promote health equity.
On Wednesday evenings during the school year, I spend my time volunteering as a Certified Application Counselor at the University of North Carolina’s SHAC clinic, the oldest student-run free clinic in the nation. Here, most patients lack health coverage, preventing them from seeing specialists and primary care doctors. Out of the dozens of patients I’ve walked through coverage options with, only one has been eligible for North Carolina’s Medicaid program. The struggles and stories of these patients have stayed with me.
North Carolina became the 40th state to sign legislation expanding Medicaid in March. Once implemented on December 1, this legislative change will make affordable health coverage accessible for nearly all adults earning below 138% of the federal poverty level in the state. As I returned home to Alabama for the summer, I began to reflect on why my home state and nine others have not made similar changes.
According to a recent report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the United States experienced historic drops in the uninsured rate from 2019 to 2021. These decreases were largest in states that had recently expanded Medicaid. Alabama, however, saw the largest increase in its uninsured rates across states during this period. While our nation is making strides in improving access to affordable care, it is troubling to know that our state is falling behind.
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