A new report shows how Alabama could benefit from expanding Medicaid.
The study comes from the Commonwealth Fund and the George Washington University. It talks about the how the expansion of Medicaid under something known as the American Rescue Plan.
Dr. Leighton Ku is the Director of Center for Health Policy Research at GWU. He said many opponents of expanding Medicaid are concerned about the cost. Ku said the rescue plan addresses those concerns.
“To sweeten the deal for states like Alabama, the American Rescue Plan says, 'We will give you some additional funds, cover those costs for two years,' so basically speaking, the state doesn’t have to spend any state funds initially to help expand Medicaid.”
He said the expansion would provide insurance to many more Alabamians.
“The expansion would let Alabama cover people with Medicaid coverage if you have income roughly up to the level of $30,000 for a family of three. As a result of that, we expect the number of people who would gain Medicaid coverage would rise by about 340,000,” he said.
The study shows over 28,000 jobs would be created if Medicaid were expanded.