Medicaid Expansion forum set Monday, Feb. 27 in Brewton

Published 9:09 am Wednesday, February 22, 2023

Expanding Medicaid to cover adults with low incomes would help keep hospitals and clinics open in rural areas across Alabama. Expansion would save lives and create thousands of jobs in communities around the state. And Medicaid expansion would ensure health coverage for tens of thousands of Alabamians who work hard but are not paid enough to afford private insurance.

Alabama Arise will co-sponsor a community event on Medicaid expansion in Brewton on Monday, Feb. 27, at 5:30 p.m. Other co-sponsors are Atmore Community Hospital and DW McMillan Memorial Hospital, which will host the event in Brewton.

Media members are welcome and invited to the entire event.

The event will feature local and state perspectives on the jobs and opportunities that Medicaid expansion would bring to Atmore, Brewton and surrounding communities. Among the presenters will be Ryan Hankins, executive director of the Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama (PARCA), who will discuss the economic and budgetary advantages of Medicaid expansion.

Medicaid expansion would benefit more than 340,000 people across Alabama. That includes 220,000 people who are caught in the state’s health coverage gap, earning too much to qualify for Alabama Medicaid and too little to afford private insurance. Expansion also would help another 120,000 Alabamians who are stretching to pay for coverage they cannot readily afford. Alabama is one of just 11 states that have not yet expanded Medicaid.

WHAT: Protect Health Care in Our Community event

WHO: Event sponsors and expected presenters include:
Alabama Arise
Atmore Community Hospital
DW McMillan Memorial Hospital
Ryan Hankins, Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama (PARCA)

WHERE: DW McMillan Memorial Hospital Education Center
1301 Belleville Ave.
Brewton, AL 36426

WHEN: Monday, Feb. 27, 2023, at 5:30 p.m.

Alabama Arise is a statewide, member-led nonprofit organization advancing public policies to improve the lives of Alabamians who are marginalized by poverty. Arise’s membership includes faith-based, community, nonprofit and civic groups, grassroots leaders and individuals from across Alabama.