MONTGOMERY, Ala. –American Cancer Society advocates from across the state gathered in the Capital City last week for the organization’s annual Cancer Action Day. Their mission was to meet with dozens of lawmakers to advocate for Medicaid expansion.
“I know I’m preaching to the choir here, but we need to expand (Medicaid) because 300,000 would gain eligibility for Medicaid in Alabama,” said Hannah Adams, who works with the ACS, to a crowd of advocates.
“When I look at cancer prevention measures that could take place if this is expanded, that would be really key.”
Approximately two million Americans are diagnosed with cancer every year, around 30,000 of which are Alabamians. As one of the few remaining states to have not expanded its Medicaid program, Adams, along with other ACS members, argued that expanding the low-income health care program would help reduce deaths from cancer in the state.
“Research shows that people living without health coverage are more likely than those with health care insurance to be diagnosed with cancer at a later stage, Hannah Adams said.
“As a pediatric cancer survivor (myself), there’s a lot of survivors living out there who might have been diagnosed at a young age, and they need that proper insurance because pediatric cancer survivors tend to be more prone to secondary cancers and long-term side effects from treatment.”
The 50 or so ACS advocates scheduled several meetings with lawmakers on its March 6 day of action, speaking with around 45 lawmakers, according to Jane Adams, government relations director for ACS.
Jane Adams said advocates had met with a majority of the members of the Alabama Senate, as well as a number of Alabama House members, all of whom were receptive to their message to expand Medicaid.
With several hospitals closing across the state in recent months, as well as health care access shrinking in rural areas, Jane Adams said it was imperative that lawmakers act sooner, rather than later.
“If they don’t do it now, it will only get worse; we’ll lose five hospitals in the next year, possibly ten after that,” Jane Adams told Alabama Daily News.
“There’s only so much we can do to Band-Aid this system together. We have to have an investment in our health care system, and unless the governor does it soon, we’re going to be facing the stark realities of it.”
Were Alabama to expand Medicaid, it’s estimated that close to 300,000 more Alabamians would become eligible for the state-run health care program, the majority of whom are working adults whose incomes are too high to be eligible for the program as it is today.
While the Republican-controlled Legislature has largely been opposed to Medicaid expansion, some Republicans, including House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter, R-Rainsville, have warmed up to the idea in recent months, though through a private-public model of expansion similar to that of Arkansas’ Medicaid expansion model.
Jane Adams said the ACS has not taken a position on whether it would endorse a private-public model of Medicaid expansion, however, were that the only path forward, she would welcome it.
“For us, the devil’s in the details, but it is a legitimate pathway forward, and so if the governor wants to pursue a public-private partnership, we would certainly welcome her doing that,” she told ADN. “Again, the details matter, but why not?”
Alabama lawmakers were recently briefed on a private-public Medicaid expansion developed by Blue Cross and the Alabama Hospital Association that would expand coverage to at least an additional 260,000 Alabamians.
The expansion decision lies with Gov. Kay Ivey, though strong support among state lawmakers likely matters.
Janice Johnson, another ACS member and cancer survivor, agreed Medicaid expansion in Alabama should be a matter of when, not if.
“As someone who was fortunate enough to have insurance but still went through a lot of hoops during my process, I would say that we can’t afford not to expand it, we just simply cannot,” Johnson told ADN.
“We need to find a way to make it work, and it really doesn’t matter who’s putting in the most dollars, what matters is the lives that will be saved as a result of those dollars.”