Dive Brief:
- Conservative Republican Gov. Robert Bentley of Alabama revealed last week his administration is considering Medicaid expansion under the ACA.
- Bentley said he's concerned for the working poor and being able to attract doctors to rural Alabama, but warned it's unclear if or how the state could manage to fund its share of the costs.
- Despite the uncertainty, the indication that the deeply conservative state is willing to discuss expansion is a landmark in itself.
Dive Insight:
If Alabama proceeds, it could prove a major shift in Medicaid expansion by influencing a turning of the tide in the South, which has so far been resistant.
Some other Southern Republicans are also now saying they might support state-designed programs that allow them to impose some conditions, the Associated Press reports.
Bentley has previously suggested he would support a program that requires beneficiaries to work and pay premiums.
Montana, previously another Republican hold-out state, may also have proven influential by recently becoming the 30th expansion state by implementing a requirement beneficiaries pay premiums amounting to 2% of their income.
Of those states that have expanded Medicaid, as well as Washington, D.C., six have done so using federal waivers to adjust their programs, Associated Press reported.