Make Medicaid Recipients Work? Speakers at Public Hearing Say No
Governor Kay Ivey and other state leaders want Alabama to join a handful of states that require some Medicaid recipients to work or go to school. They say that would save money, cut unemployment, and improve health as people switch to private insurance. The proposal affects only able-bodied parents or caregivers of children under 19 who qualify for Medicaid because their family income is at or below 18 percent of the federal poverty level. But when the Alabama Medicaid Agency held a hearing on the plan Tuesday, the crowd strongly disagreed with it.
A dozen people at the Hoover Public Library took the podium and every speaker criticized the proposed Medicaid changes. Pediatric neuropsychologist Joe Ackerson wanted the crowd of more than 50 to know where he was coming from.
Dan Carsen, WBHM
Dr. Joe Ackerson speaks to more than 50 people at Tuesday’s public hearing on proposed changes to Medicaid in Alabama.
“I am not a Democrat,” he said. “I am not a Republican. I’m a scientist, and I’m a doctor. I’m here to talk on behalf of my patients and people with disabilities that depend on Medicaid for their very survival.”
He talked about low-income patients – and the people caring for them – who can’t work, adding, “As a decent society, we pay taxes in order to help those people that need extra help to get by. It’s the Judeo-Christian thing to do. It is the proper, right, moral, ethical thing for people to do.”
Lianne Webb says she’s suffered from health problems, and she worries enforcing the requirement wouldn’t save money.
“Doing all that work, all those people … I just don’t see it ever becoming budget-neutral,” says Webb.
This was the last of two public hearings in the state, but people can still comment by mail and through the Alabama Medicaid Agency website until April 2. After that, there will be a national comment period. All comments become part of Alabama’s application for a federal waiver to try the proposed changes for five years.
Alabama has more than a million Medicaid enrollees, and more than half of them are children. The Alabama Medicaid Agency says the proposed requirement would affect up to 75,000 people.
You can learn more about the Alabama’s proposed plan, including who would be exempt from the work requirement, here.
How Alabama Power kept bills up and opposition out to become one of the most powerful utilities in the country
In one of the poorest states in America, the local utility earns massive profits producing dirty energy with almost no pushback from state regulators.
No more Elmo? APT could cut ties with PBS
The board that oversees Alabama Public Television is considering disaffiliating from PBS, ending a 55-year relationship.
Nonprofit erases millions in medical debt across Gulf South, says it’s ‘Band-Aid’ for real issue
Undue Medical Debt has paid off more than $299 million in medical debts in Alabama. Now, the nonprofit warns that the issue could soon get worse.
Roy Wood Jr. on his father, his son and his new book
Actor, comedian and writer Roy Wood Jr. is out with a new book -- "The Man of Many Fathers: Life Lessons Disguised as a Memoir." He writes about his experience growing up in Birmingham, losing his dad as a teenager and all the lessons he learned from various father figures throughout his career.
Auburn fires coach Hugh Freeze following 12th loss in his last 15 SEC games
The 56-year-old Freeze failed to fix Auburn’s offensive issues in three years on the Plains, scoring 24 or fewer points in 17 of his 22 league games. He also ended up on the wrong end of too many close matchups, including twice this season thanks partly to questionable calls.
In a ‘disheartening’ era, the nation’s former top mining regulator speaks out
Joe Pizarchik, who led the federal Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement from 2009 to 2017, says Alabama’s move in the wake of a fatal 2024 home explosion increases risks to residents living atop “gassy” coal mines.
