Alabama

Could gambling money lead to Medicaid expansion in Alabama? – Alabama Reflector

Published

9 months ago

February 9, 2024

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Could gambling money lead to Medicaid expansion in Alabama? – Alabama Reflector

Buried in the gambling expansion bill is a provision that might give give Alabama the chance to expand Medicaid.

But no one seems to want to discuss it.

Not Rep. Andy Whitt, R-Harvest, who has helped draft the legislation. On his way to the House floor Thursday, Whitt said that providing health care to working adults has been a point of discussion in the past, but “the governor is the only one who could expand Medicaid.”

Not Alabama Arise, which has advocated for Medicaid expansion. The group declined comment on the provision Thursday.

House Minority Leader Anthony Daniels, D-Huntsville, also avoided discussion about the bill. But he was clear when asked if he would support a gambling bill that lacked the provision.

“No,” he said.

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The appearance of Medicaid in the legislation adds an unprecedented opportunity to bring Medicaid expansion to the state, a long-held goal of both Democrats and health care professionals, particularly hospitals that say it’s essential to address a mounting crisis in public health in rural areas.

But it also adds risk to the legislation’s prospects. Some Republicans may balk at supporting a program they have long opposed on ideological grounds. Taking it out could threaten support from Democrats, whose support has been needed to pass prior gambling proposals amid divisions in the House GOP caucus.

The bill would allow — but not require — lawmakers to fund rural health care and qualified health benefit plans for “for adults with income below 138 percent of the federal poverty level and parents or other caretaker relatives of dependent children with income between 14 and 138 percent of the federal poverty level.”

If allocated, the money for expansion would come from a Gaming Trust Fund, where taxes on casino and sports wagering would be held. A 2020 report from a commission convened by Gov. Kay Ivey estimated that fully expanded casinos and sports betting could bring between $310 and $410 million into state coffers.

Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act expands Medicaid services to anyone making up to 138% of the poverty level ($20,783 for an individual; $35,632 for a family of three).

Rep. Sam Jones, D-Mobile, the lone Democrat in a study group charged with introducing a comprehensive gambling bill, said Thursday that they wanted to include health care, including mental health in the distribution of gambling revenue. Legislators, he said, wrote the provision broadly so they “can either have Medicaid expansion or private plans.”

Like Whitt, Jones said Ivey will make the call on expansion. The bill, he said, would give them the option to do it.

“If we’re going to get new money in the state, we want to address some of the issues that we’ve not addressed for some period of time now,” Jones said.

Senate Finance and Taxation General Fund Committee Chair Greg Albritton, R-Atmore, a supporter of a comprehensive approach, has previously said he opposes Medicaid expansion, and said Wednesday after the bill was unveiled that the provision might be in the bill to garner “particular votes.”

Gov. Kay Ivey’s office did not return a request for comment Thursday.

Alabama has so far resisted Medicaid expansion, which has left 219,000 Alabamians in a limbo known as the coverage gap, according to KFF. Those in it make too much to qualify for traditional Medicaid and too little to qualify for subsidized Affordable Care Act plans offered in the marketplace.

House Republicans have expressed support for an Arkansas-type program that would use Medicaid expansion dollars in a public-private partnership.

Alabama House gambling bills include lottery, casinos, sports betting

Previous research indicated that increased economic activity would eventually balance what the state would spend on expansion. According to a PARCA study, expansion would save Alabama an average of $172.4 million in health care costs over six years. That would be more than enough to cover the cost of the program.

The study estimated that spending in Alabama would go up by an average of $225 million a year over current Medicaid costs, but the state would also average nearly $400 million in savings over those same six years each year. Additionally, expansion would create an average of about 20,000 new jobs per year over the next six years and have an estimated average economic impact of nearly $2 billion per year over the next six years.

Danne Howard, deputy director of the Alabama Hospital Association, said in a phone interview Thursday that they support the wording in the bill. She said that according to their projections, closing the coverage gap would need funding from the state for at least 10 years.

“There’s no cost at stake, but who knows what things might look like 10 years from now or later. That additional revenue may be needed. This is an opportunity, or this is language, that would allow for it in future years, if it’s needed — but not mandated it if it’s not,” she said.

The Alabama Hospital Association plans to meet with staff from the governor’s office next week to discuss what they describe as a plan to close the coverage gap.

“It’s never a bad idea to have the possibility of a revenue stream if it’s needed years out. That is insurance,” she said.

Sports betting industry veteran David Vinturella, an instructor at the University of Nevada Las Vegas College of Education’s sport management program, said in an interview Thursday that revenues from both casinos and sports betting have been trending upward.

Nevada, he said, just broke a record of the most money wagered in casinos in the state, and it’s gone up every year before that, Vinturella said. Revenue for casinos were up 9% in December compared to December 2022.

“The revenue in the casinos like here in Nevada — it goes up every year, because they’re shifting the odds, they’re changing the way some of the games are played,” he said.

In Ohio, Vinturella said, over $1 billion dollars was bet in the first month of legal sports betting in the state, with a tax rate of 10%. Because of that success, the state increased the tax rate to 20%.

“They were so successful in that first month that the state of Ohio went back and passed legislation to double their tax rate to 20%, effective July 1, so it was such a huge success in the state of Ohio,” he said.

House Ways and Means committee Chair Rex Reynolds, R-Huntsville, said Thursday that the provision is just part of “categories” the Legislature “could” fund.

“It’s just identifying some important categories that we may need to look at,” he said.

While he did not say where he leaned on the bill, he supports the money going to the General Fund to allow the Ways and Means committee to make those decisions on a year to year basis, “because our priorities may change,” he said.

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Alabama

Alabama's presidential results shift right — but not because of new GOP voters • Alabama Reflector

Published

9 hours ago

November 7, 2024

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Alabama's presidential results shift right — but not because of new GOP voters • Alabama Reflector

Alabama shifted about 3% toward President-Elect Donald Trump in Tuesday’s election. But if unofficial returns are correct, that may have less to do with new Republican votes than a shrinking pool of Democratic ones.

Trump got about 1.4 million votes (65%) in Alabama on Tuesday, according to numbers from the Alabama Secretary of State’s office, while Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, got about 766,680 (34%). About 58.5% of registered voters in Alabama participated in the election, the lowest number since 1988.

But Trump’s support was relatively unchanged from his numbers in 2020. According to the Secretary of State’s figures, Trump only added 11,540 votes to his total. Harris’ total fell by almost 82,000 votes — a drop of about 9.6% — over President Joe Biden’s numbers in 2020.

Experts say this shift points to declining Democratic engagement rather than a surge in Republican support.

Randy Kelley, chair of the Alabama Democratic Party, and several political science professors cited a lack of competitive races and stricter voting access rules as factors behind the lower Democratic turnout. John Wahl, chair of the Alabama Republican Party, pointed to sustained Republican outreach and demographic shifts as the GOP focuses on working-class and minority voters.

“They had many less Democrats on the ballot this time. They had few options to choose from,” Kelley said in a phone interview Wednesday.

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Democratic turnout decreased across the state in both rural and urban areas with significant losses in traditionally Democratic strongholds. In Jefferson County, for example, Democratic votes dropped by 20,000, while Republican votes fell by 8,000. In rural counties, the decrease was even more notable; in Franklin County, Democratic turnout dropped by 25%, compared to smaller decreases among Republicans. Similar drops were seen in the Black Belt, where Lowndes County showed a 22% decrease in Democratic votes from 2020.

Kelley said the limited options available to voters, especially in Black candidates, discouraged turnout. Kelley noted that fewer Black candidates ran in 2024 and said that the party must improve its recruitment efforts.

“Candidates bring out their constituents, and without representation, it’s hard to get people excited about voting,” Kelley said.

Spencer Goidel, a political science professor at Auburn University, said that Alabama’s election landscape in 2024 lacked competitive races to encourage Democratic voters. Unlike in 2020, when then-incumbent Democratic U.S. Sen. Doug Jones’s campaign drew some left-leaning voters, the current election cycle offered limited engagement.

“If you’re a Democratic voter in Alabama, people can tell you it’s important to go out and vote, practice your civic duty, but at the end of the day, there’s not much of a reason to vote, and I think that that just filters down. It discourages people,” Goidel said.

In Alabama’s seven congressional districts, only District 2 had a Democratic candidate — Shomari Figures — in races considered somewhat competitive. Figures defeated Republican nominee Caroleene Dobson in the district on Tuesday.

Wahl said he believes a Republican focus on economic and educational issues may have contributed to Democrats’ smaller margins in these areas.

“We love to have these new minority voters coming to the Republican Party, kind of seeking refuge from how far left the Democrat Party has gone, and we’re excited about that,” Wahl said.

Enrijeta Shino, a political science professor at the University of Alabama, sees Alabama’s results as part of a national trend where Democratic turnout has dropped while Republican enthusiasm remained steady. Shino said the votes in Alabama mirrored a broader pattern nationwide.

“That shows that Republicans were more energized, probably did better in get-out-to-vote mobilization for their base, and the messaging that they were getting from Trump resonated with them better than the messages Democrats were getting from Harris with her base,” Shino said.”

Alabama’s restrictive absentee voting rules in 2024 also may have affected turnout. The state had effective no-excuse absentee voting in 2020 in response to the pandemic, but state officials ended that program after that election. The change especially affected low-income and hourly-wage workers who may face greater challenges voting in person.

“When you only have Election Day voting, the cost of voting for people is higher, and when the cost of voting for people is higher, you’re going to see people who can’t get off work or have to take care of their children, can’t afford child care, people like that are going to be less likely turn out to vote,” Goidel said.

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Alabama

Former Alabama linebacker starts practice with Denver Broncos

Published

16 hours ago

November 7, 2024

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Former Alabama linebacker starts practice with Denver Broncos

Denver Broncos outside linebacker Drew Sanders practiced for the first time with his teammates on Wednesday.

The Broncos placed Sanders on the physically-unable-to-perform list when they convened for training camp in July. Sanders tore an Achilles tendon during Denver’s offseason workouts.

Sanders’ practice appearance opens a 21-day window during which the Broncos can restore the linebacker to the 53-player active roster. If Denver does not put Sanders on its active roster during that period, he will stay on the PUP list for the remainder of the 2024 season.

Sanders played at Alabama in the 2020 and 2021 seasons before transferring to Arkansas for 2022 and joining the Broncos in 2023 as the 67th selection in the NFL Draft.

As a rookie, Sanders played in all 17 of Denver’s games, with four starts. He was on the field for 258 defensive snaps (23 percent of the Broncos’ total) and 297 special-teams plays. Sanders made 24 tackles, recorded one tackle for loss and recovered one fumble.

Sanders began practice on the heels of the Broncos’ trade of outside linebacker Baron Browning to the Arizona Cardinals on Monday. Browning had started two games for Denver this season.

Two other players with Alabama football roots returned to NFL rosters on Wednesday.

Defensive tackle Travis Bell (Jeff Davis, now known as J.A.G.) joined the Minnesota Vikings’ practice squad. The first player drafted from Kennesaw State when he joined the Chicago Bears in the seventh round in 2023, Bell played in two games for the Atlanta Falcons last season. After going through the offseason, training camp and preseason with the Cincinnati Bengals, Bell was on the Bears’ practice squad until being released on Oct. 15.

Outside linebacker Jamie Sheriff (South Alabama) returned to the Seattle Seahawks’ practice squad. Sheriff made his NFL debut as an undrafted rookie in the Carolina Panthers’ season-opening game. Carolina had claimed Sheriff off waivers after he’d been let go by the Seahawks at the end of the preseason. When the Panthers waived Sheriff on Sept. 10, Seattle picked him up for its practice squad. He played in one game as a practice-squad elevation but was released on Oct. 30.

FOR MORE OF AL.COM’S COVERAGE OF THE NFL, GO TO OUR NFL PAGE

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.

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Alabama

Alabama House District 2-Elect Shomari Figures already getting to work

Published

1 day ago

November 6, 2024

Press Room

Alabama House District 2-Elect Shomari Figures already getting to work

MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) – Shomari Figures claimed victory Tuesday night, in the race for Alabama’s newly drawn second congressional district.

Figures wins Alabama’s redrawn 2nd Congressional District

Figures, who went up against Republican Caroleene Dobson, earned 54% of the vote, with the majority coming out of Mobile.

“It’s about us” Shomari Figures claims victory in Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District

Figures claimed the democratic ticket in April after a crowded race that started with twelve other candidates.

Anitra Henderson, with the Figures campaign, says he’s spending Wednesday heading up through the counties to thank voters.

Henderson says he’s already making calls to congressional leaders.

After beating out his opponent he says he’s ready to represent his district in Washington.

Shomari Figures speaks at final night of DNC

“First thing first, and that’s building a bipartisan, multi-faceted team here in the state of Alabama to help, or here in District Two to help with the transition process that’s pulling together voices and resources from the business community, the economic community, the education community, the labor community, the church community, law enforcement community, all of those relevant stakeholders,” Figures said.

Figures brings with him years of experience in the federal government.

It includes working under both Obama and Biden presidencies and Attorney General Merrick Garland.

He’s also the son of current State Senator Vivian Davis-Figures and the late State Senator Michael Figures.

A Mobile native, he says regardless of anyone’s political stance, he’s fit for the job.

Former US attorney general says House candidate Shomari Figures in Alabama will fight for equality

“At the end of the day, we got in this race because we love this place that we call home, and home is not blue. Home is not red. Home is a collective of people and places and communities that are strong, that have led this nation through its toughest times and darker, darkest days,” Figures said. “And we can, we can do it. We know that we have a bright future ahead of us. And look, we got to go up there, we work on both sides of the aisle and we get the job done.

Figures has centered his campaign around the healthcare crisis in Alabama.

‘On life support’: Hospital officials warn dozens of rural Alabama hospitals are at risk of closing their doors

He also touched on the recent hospital closings in his district.

During several debates over the last few months, he expressed fear for those who needed healthcare access, if they had nowhere to go.

“You know, once we’re sworn in, I think we have to look to immediately resolving the health care crisis that we have across this district,” Figures said. “I mean, we have four hospitals that have closed in this district just since we’ve been in this race. We have several other facilities that are on the verge of closing in this district, and we have to make sure that we can stand up for them.

Figures will take office on January 1.

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