Parker Griffith Unveils Plan to Reform, Retool and Expand Medicaid

Press Release

With more than 30,000 new jobs on the line, plus a $2.1 billion boost to the Alabama economy every year, Parker Griffith has unveiled his uniquely Alabama plan to reform, retool and expand Medicaid. In addition, Griffith's plan would provide at least 191,000 uninsured Alabamians with health care coverage and save as many as 500 lives every year.

"Governor Robert Bentley made a crass political calculation to allow Alabama citizens to get sick and die because he is frightened of extremists in his own party and the damage they could do to his political career," said Griffith, a medical doctor who has served in both the state legislature and the U.S. Congress.

Under the Griffith plan, the state of Alabama would receive $14 dollars in federal funds over the next ten years for every dollar it spends. The economic benefit of the influx of federal dollars and newly insured citizens would generate 11,000 new jobs in the health care sector in Alabama, along with nearly 20,000 more jobs in other sectors and $2.1 billion annually in economic activity (GDP) for the state.

"Economically, this is a homerun. It's a bigger, better deal than we could ever hope to achieve recruiting new businesses one at a time," said Griffith. "Right now, a failure of leadership in the governor's office is driving up unemployment in our state, and this plan can and will put Alabama families back to work."

As of April 2014, Alabama is the only state in the nation to see unemployment rise over the past 12 months. The state's unemployment rate has jumped from 6.1 percent to 6.9 percent in 2014 alone.

"With our state ranked 49th in the nation for job creation, we can't afford to cast aside nearly 31,000 new jobs and $2.1 billion in economic growth every year because the governor is hiding in fear of political extremists in his own party," said Griffith. "For the economic benefits alone, my plan to reform, retool and expand Medicaid is the best path forward for Alabama."

While touting the economic strengths of his Medicaid plan, Griffith also emphasized that there are even more important reasons to implement his Alabama-only approach.

"People's lives are on the line. Parents and children in hard-working families are being denied health insurance because of Governor Bentley, and hundreds--literally hundreds--will die needlessly every year because of his cowardice," said Griffith.

Alabama ranks worst in the nation for stroke, heart disease, hypertension and diabetes. These life-threatening conditions can be effectively treated with proper medical care, but a lack of health insurance keeps Alabama citizens in need of care away from the doctor's office. A lack of health insurance is also directly responsible for preventable deaths in Alabama due to breast cancer, prostate cancer, and colon and rectal cancer because uncovered citizens are less likely to get recommended cancer screenings.

"I don't understand how any politician who can look at these numbers, shrug and defend the system as it is. If Robert Bentley doesn't think the state of Alabama can do better than last in the nation in health and second to last in the nation in job growth, then he needs to get out of office and make way for someone who can," said Griffith.

Griffith also promoted his plan as cutting the number of uninsured military veterans in Alabama in half. There are currently 27,000 U.S. veterans in Alabama without health insurance, as well 20,000 family members of veterans who are uninsured. Based on numbers in other states that have expanded their Medicaid programs, as many as 13,500 of those veterans and 7,000 of their family members would receive health care coverage under Griffith's plan.

"We've watched with disgust as new revelations have come out of the Veterans Affairs Department in Washington about how our veterans are being taken for granted when they seek the health care services they earned. Governor Bentley is doing the exact same thing to our veterans by refusing to expand Medicaid for political reasons. It is downright despicable what he is doing. As your governor, I promise to protect the men and women who have protected us by providing them with affordable health care under Medicaid," said Griffith.

In addition, Griffiths' plan would allow Alabama hospitals to once again take advantage of full Medicaid reimbursement rates, as other states do. Falling Medicaid reimbursement rates, along with a growing number of patients without health insurance, have already led to the closing of numerous hospitals in rural areas of Alabama, with additional closings coming soon. The lack of nearby hospital facilities is more than an inconvenience for rural families but a serious threat to life and health in emergency situations.

"Every day, the people of Alabama sends $4.7 million of our hard-earned tax dollars to other states to provide health insurance for their working families, to boost their economies, and to generate new jobs for people in New York, Ohio, Kentucky and Arkansas," said Griffith.

"Eleven Republican governors have already expanded Medicaid in some shape or form because they have the political courage and vision to do what's right for working families in their states," said Griffith. "As your governor, I will do the same. I'll keep our tax dollars here. I'll create jobs here to Alabama strong. I'll draw on our state's innovational spirit to not simply expand a flawed Medicaid program but use this opportunity to reform, retool and expand it."

Griffith unveiled the details of his plan at a media conference and in a series of meetings in Montgomery, Ala., Thursday, May 22, 2014. He will travel to Birmingham and Huntsville on Friday to talk about endangered hospitals and address directly how his plan to reform, retool and expand Medicaid will help provide health insurance to the thousands of veterans that Gov. Bentley turned his back on when he pledged never to expand Medicaid in any shape or form.

Under the Griffith plan, which would require a waiver from the federal government because it is a market-based solution that uses private insurance instead of the standard Medicaid structure under the Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare), the federal government would pay 100 percent of additional health care costs for the first three years, with the state responsible only for administrative costs. The state's share of health care costs would gradually increase after three years and never exceed a maximum of 10 percent.

The Griffith plan is projected to provide health insurance under the Medicaid program to a minimum of 191,000 additional Alabamians in first year alone.

With an increase of $2.1 billion annually to Alabama's GDP, the state is estimated to generate an additional $163 million to $237 million in annual tax revenue, based on varying research data. Over ten years, the Griffith plan will generate $1.6 billion or more in additional tax revenue while costing the state $1 billion, for an overall tax benefit to the state.

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