Medicaid expansion, grocery tax cut could help marginalized Alabamians, advocates say | News | #republicans | #Alabama | #GOP

MONTGOMERY — Looking ahead to the 2023 legislative session, a group advocating for Alabamians marginalized by poverty plan to push lawmakers to expand Medicaid and end the state sales tax on groceries.

Alabama is one of 12 states, including Georgia, that has not expanded Medicaid to cover adults with low incomes; Alabama is one of only three states that imposes a state grocery tax.

Alabama Arise’s more than 400 members across Alabama agree that expansion would reduce racial health disparities and financial barriers for more than 340,000 people.

According to studies, expansion would cover 220,000 residents who earn too much to qualify for the state’s current Medicaid threshold, but too little to afford private plans. Expanding Medicaid would also benefit another 120,000 Alabamians who are may be stretching to pay for coverage in the private market.

“Medicaid expansion would boost our economy and improve the lives of hundreds of thousands of Alabamians,” Alabama Arise executive director Robyn Hyden said. “It’s time for Gov. Kay Ivey and lawmakers to say yes to the generous federal incentives for Medicaid expansion. Making this crucial investment in Alabamians’ well-being now will make our state better for decades to come.”

An Alabama Arise poll earlier this year 71.5% of Alabamians support Medicaid expansion. That figure included 65.8% of Republican voters. According to the Alabama Policy Institute, the Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama estimated that full expansion would cost the state more than $225 million per year on average, and would rise to $243 million by 2027.

The expansion would cover more low-income Americans up to age 64 with incomes as much as 138% of the federal poverty line instead of 100% of the poverty line ($27,750 for a family of four). The federal government would increase its share of the costs to 90% and the state would bear a 10% cost.

Ivey and other state legislators have previously expressed concerns with the long-term cost of expansion.

“I think the overwhelming question is the amount of money, if the federal government ever pulled back, that we would be having to pay in and that sounds like the concerns of most of my colleagues,” said Sen. Garlan Gudger of Cullman in a previous CNHI interview. “I think people are in favor of more health care for anyone, especially people who can’t afford it in Alabama. We don’t want to approve something like that and it come back and bite us and the government comes back and pull it back and we don’t have that budget.”

Un-tax groceries

In addition to Alabama, Mississippi and South Dakota are the other states that impose a state tax on groceries.

The 4% state grocery tax generates approximately $500 million in Alabama and brings in 6% of the annual revenue for the Education Trust Fund, which supports and maintains functions of the state’s public school system. Alabama Arise proposes replacing the revenue by capping the state income tax deduction for federal income taxes (FIT).

The FIT deduction and grocery tax are two policies that contribute heavily to Alabama’s upside-down tax system, according to Alabama Arise. On average, Alabamians with low and moderate incomes must pay twice as much of what they make in state and local taxes as the richest households do.

“By un-taxing groceries and capping the FIT deduction, lawmakers can make Alabama’s tax system more just and equitable,” Hyden said. “This plan would empower more families to keep food on the table while also protecting funding for our public schools. The Legislature should seize this opportunity to make life better for every Alabamian.”

Other Alabama Arise priorities

Death penalty reform: a law to require juries to be unanimous in any decision to impose a death sentence. Currently, 10 of 12 jurors have to agree to a death sentence in a conviction.

Criminal justice reform: including retroactive application of state sentencing guidelines and repeal of the Habitual Felony Offender Act, which mandates a life without parole for anyone convicted of a Class A offense if they have three prior felonies on their record and one of them is a Class A offense, no matter the time between the offenses. Class A offenses generally include violent crimes like murder, rape, robbery, burglary and 1st degree arson.

Human services: increasing budgets for education, health care and child care

Taxes: capping the state’s upside-down deduction for federal income taxes

Voting rights: automatic universal voter registration, removal of barriers to voting rights restoration

Public transportation: provide state funding for public transportation to provide those with low income options to get to work, school, or to health care

Payday and title lending form: lower the cap on annual percentage rate for payday loans and title loans.

“Arise believes in dignity, equity and justice for everyone,” Hyden said. “Our 2023 issue priorities reflect the need to work together to break down policy barriers that keep people in poverty, and that disproportionately harm Black and Hispanic Alabamians. We must build a healthier, more just and more inclusive future for our state.”