EDITORIAL: Medicaid expansion’s money in Alabama

Sept. 21--Thus far, Alabama lawmakers haven't expanded Medicaid in our state because of political fecklessness and an astonishing streak of financial ignorance. Each day that passes without expansion is a day of lost opportunities -- in health care, in state revenue, in business growth.

The governor's office and the state Legislature should be ashamed.

The latest effort to change the minds of the Republican-controlled Legislature comes from the Alabama Hospital Association, which Thursday unveiled a campaign promoting the economic benefits of Medicaid expansion. It's a laudable attempt, given that previous campaigns have largely centered on getting health insurance to more Alabamians, particularly children in low-income families.

We doubt it will work because Alabama Republicans during the tenure of former Gov. Robert Bentley drew a line in the sand and still won't cross it. Bentley so despised the Obama administration's Affordable Care Act that he steadfastly refused to consider the ACA's Medicaid expansion component. That the government would initially pick up more than 90 percent of the added costs -- limiting the state-match requirement for several years -- and that more than 300,000 Alabamians would benefit meant nothing.

"If I were to tell you, 'If you give me a dollar I will guarantee you a $10 return,' would you take that investment?'" Danne Howard, executive vice president and chief policy officer of the AHA, told The Montgomery Advertiser. "The return on the investment is the economic activity that results."

Nevertheless, the Republican sentiment in Montgomery about Medicaid expansion hasn't changed since Bentley's removal. So give credit to the AHA, whose new approach uses dollar signs as bait. Chief among the AHA's pitch is a 2012 UAB study showing $2.2 billion to $4.6 billion of new economic activity would occur annually in Alabama if the Legislature expands Medicaid. Expansion would also generate between $12 million and $26 million of new tax revenue each year, the UAB study estimated.

How? More Alabamians would receive health-care insurance. Doctors' offices, medical clinics and hospitals would see a surge in patients, which would boost their financial bottom lines and promote additional hirings. The snowball effect would be profound.

Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox, the Democratic candidate for governor, is a strong advocate for Medicaid expansion. But Alabama shouldn't have to wait for a Democrat to regain the governor's office to improve its quality of life.

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