Gov. Robert Bentley's task force recommends Medicaid expansion (al.com)

By Mike Cason | mcason@al.com
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on November 18, 2015 at 3:06 PM, updated November 18, 2015 at 6:06 PM

A task force appointed by Gov. Robert Bentley today recommended that the governor and the Legislature find a way to provide health insurance for Alabamians without coverage.

The Alabama Health Care Improvement Task Force approved a recommendation that said the biggest obstacle in improving health is the "coverage gap that makes health insurance inaccessible to hundreds of thousands of Alabamians."

The majority of that group are working people who earn too much to qualify for Medicaid but don't have private insurance, according to the Task Force statement.

It said expansion could provide coverage to about 290,000 Alabamians, including 185,000 who are working.

The recommendation does not specifically call for Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act. But a two-page statement attached to the recommendation describes benefits that would come with expansion.
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http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2015/11/gov_robert_bentleys_task_force.html




Here's the op-ed response:

Medicaid expansion and Bentley's $3 billion blunder (al.com)

By Kyle Whitmire | kwhitmire@al.com
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on November 20, 2015 at 10:33 AM, updated November 20, 2015 at 10:35 AM

On Wednesday a task force appointed by Gov. Robert Bentley recommended that the state "move forward at the earliest opportunity to close Alabama's health coverage gap with an Alabama-driven solution."

The task force couldn't bring itself to say it explicitly, and some of its members danced around what that contortionism really means, but there's only one clear way right now to "close Alabama's health coverage gap" as they say. To do that, the state must expand Medicaid.

The reasons to do so are straightforward and abundant.

In state rankings, Alabama ranks near the bottom of most indicators of public health.
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About $3 billion, which could have been spent in Alabama, which could have closed that health care gap, has gone elsewhere.
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more: http://www.al.com/opinion/index.ssf/2015/11/medicaid_expansion_is_bentleys.html




Bentley seems determined to pursue an "Alabama-centered" solution -- i.e., something Obama-free. No giving credit to the black guy, even if it delays helping the sick and the poor.