Bentley Rejects Health Exchanges, Medicaid Expansion
Gov. Bentley Rejects Key Provisions of Affordable Care Act
Alabama is joining a growing list of states that will not set up an insurance exchange under the federal health care law. Governor Robert Bentley announced yesterday he will not authorize the state-based exchange. He cites cost, saying it would create a tax burden of up to $50 million dollars. He also announced he will not expand Medicaid because the state can’t afford it.
The Affordable Care Act requires state insurance exchanges (read an explainer from NPR’s Julie Rovner here). If a state refuses to set one up, the federal government will do it for them. Some observers say its ironic and risky that so many republican governors are essentially handing over control of the state health care exchanges to the federal government. But Washington Post health policy reporter Sarah Kliff argues republican governors may be “making a very smart decision that could ultimately strengthen the Affordable Care Act rather than detract from it.”
The Medicaid expansion is optional and would have been almost completely paid for by the federal government. The Kaiser Family Foundation says more than 350,000 low income Alabamians who currently don’t have health insurance would have been added to the Medicaid rolls under the expansion. The Urban Institute estimates the Medicaid expansion would have pumped $10 billion federal dollars into Alabama’s economy over the next 6 years. Alabama Arise, a statewide coalition that advocates for low-income residents, says the Governor’s decision is a major blow to the state’s health care system and overall economy.
House Minority leader Craig Ford also criticized the governor’s decision. The Gadsden Democrat says the governor “is playing politics and wants to appear like he’s fighting Obamacare, when all he has really done is turn over these crucial decisions to the federal government and lost an opportunity to get back tax dollars.”
Bill Armistead, Chairman of the Alabama Republican Party, commended Gov. Bentley for his decision.
“The voters in Alabama have spoken loud and clear in sending Barack Obama a message that we do not like his liberal policies and I am glad to stand with Governor Bentley in opposing ObamaCare here in Alabama,” said Armistead.
In related news, Nov 12 – 16 is Rural Health Week in Alabama. According to the Alabama Rural Health Association there are severe shortages of health care providers in Alabama. There are 67 counties in state. Of those, 55 are considered rural. And all of them have shortages of dental and mental health care. More than half of the rural counties in the state don’t have hospitals that deliver babies. And seventeen don’t have a dialysis clinic. The ARHA says health care shortages make it difficult to recruit industry and jobs to rural Alabama.
Birmingham is 3rd worst in the Southeast for ozone pollution, new report says
The American Lung Association's "State of the Air" report shows some metro areas in the Gulf States continue to have poor air quality.
Why haven’t Kansas and Alabama — among other holdouts — expanded access to Medicaid?
Only 10 states have not joined the federal program that expands Medicaid to people who are still in the "coverage gap" for health care
Once praised, settlement to help sickened BP oil spill workers leaves most with nearly nothing
Thousands of ordinary people who helped clean up after the 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico say they got sick. A court settlement was supposed to help compensate them, but it hasn’t turned out as expected.
Q&A: How harm reduction can help mitigate the opioid crisis
Maia Szalavitz discusses harm reduction's effectiveness against drug addiction, how punitive policies can hurt people who need pain medication and more.
The Gulf States Newsroom is hiring a Community Engagement Producer
The Gulf States Newsroom is seeking a curious, creative and collaborative professional to work with our regional team to build up engaged journalism efforts.
Gambling bills face uncertain future in the Alabama legislature
This year looked to be different for lottery and gambling legislation, which has fallen short for years in the Alabama legislature. But this week, with only a handful of meeting days left, competing House and Senate proposals were sent to a conference committee to work out differences.
