edicaid Expansion” has unfortunately become a bit of a buzzword, especially in red states like Alabama, but that hasn’t stopped activists from keeping the pressure on our lawmakers. The fact is, expanding medicaid is a critical first step to helping people who have been virtually strangled by a merciless system, even more so since the Pandemic hit. The amount of families who need help but can’t get it has grown considerably in recent years, and one reason why is because Medicaid requirements are horrifically narrow.
Debbie Smith is a member of COVER Alabama — a “sister-organization” to Alabama Arise — which is a community of activists seeking to help the working class by pushing for expanded healthcare. And Smith joined Adam Keller for a special interview on The Valley Labor Report to talk about this growing issue.
“There are a lot of people who have low incomes in our state and still don’t have access to health insurance coverage,” Smith explained. “There’s a lot of people in what we call the ‘Coverage Gap’ that expanding medicaid would help.”
This “Coverage Gap” has been of foremost concern to proponents of Medicaid Expansion. “People in the Coverage Gap, essentially they make ‘too much’ to qualify for [Medicaid] as it is right now, but not enough to qualify to get help paying for their premiums on the health insurance marketplace through ObamaCare. So they’re kind of stuck in the middle,” Smith said.
“A lot of people don’t know that the income level Medicaid is extremely stringent,” Smith continued. “For a family of three, the monthly income limit is $372 a month for a working adult to be able to access insurance coverage.”
This incredibly restrictive income limit has been playing a major part in the Nation’s healthcare issues, which is why organizations like COVER Alabama have begun taking a stand in recent years, especially in the fallout of COVID-19.
Watch the full interview with Debbie Smith and learn more about COVER Alabama and what they are doing to fight for Medicaid Expansion:
Joe Harrison is graphic designer and video producer for The Valley Labor Report, as well as an orchestral composer. Having a long history with self-centered, manipulative, and abusive employers, he joined TVLR in November 2021 in an effort to raise awareness of worker struggles and the severe imbalance of power in the workplace and the nation as a whole.
