ften left out of discussions about Medicaid Expansion in Alabama are the positive effects that expanding the healthcare service would have not just on individuals but on the economy as a whole. Alabama would likely see a major boom in the job market as new opportunities open up for employment.
Debbie Smith is the campaign director for COVER Alabama, a group that focuses on Medicaid Expansion activism, and she joined Adam Keller on The Valley Labor Report earlier this month to speak about the economic impact that expanding healthcare would have.
“It would be really, really great for our state’s economy,” Smith said. “It would have just as much of an impact as having Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville. We would expect that about 20,000 new jobs would be created from medicaid expansion.”
It goes without saying that 20,000 new jobs opening in the State of Alabama is not an insignificant number, being nearly half the amount of employees at Redstone Arsenal, which is the state’s largest employer at over 40,000 employees.
“On top of that,” Smith continued, “[Alabama] would see an estimated $2-billion dollar economic impact… per year. And it would actually save our general fund money if we were able to expand Medicaid.”
With these two projected major economic impacts, why are lawmakers hesitating?
“There is no viable reason to not expand Medicaid at this point,” Smith said. “A lot of times you might hear that folks, if they have Medicaid, they may not want to go to work, but I think it’s just the opposite. If you’re able to get health coverage, let’s say that you have diabetes and you’re able to get Medicaid and get your insulin, and you’re able to be treated, then you could go back to work. Whatever ailment or illness that you have that’s keeping you from working could be treated!”
Watch the full discussion with Debbie Smith on Medicaid Expansion on YouTube: