Medicaid

Medicaid is the nation's largest payer of long-term care services, funding approximately 50% of all long-term care spending and nearly two-thirds of all nursing home residents.

The next Governor of Alabama must deal with a horrific impending financial crisis that will have a major effect on our seniors, children, and other at-risk populations. Our Medicaid program is designed to meet the needs of our people but a very real Medicaid disaster lurks in the very near future.

This essential program is currently being propped up by federal stimulus funds. When those funds run out, Alabama will be left with an unimaginable hole in one of its most critical programs.

Today, more than 817,000 Alabamians are enrolled in Medicaid – that’s 17% of the state's population. Medicaid enrollment increased by nearly 50,000 people in the past two years. This jump in enrollment comes at a time when state revenue collections in support of Medicaid are falling drastically.

I am the only candidate running for Governor with any plan to deal with the looming financial disaster facing our state and our most vulnerable citizens.

The 2010 Alabama state Medicaid budget is $4.9 billion. Of that total amount, Alabama is responsible for approximately $1.1 billion. The General Fund allocates only $308 million of that $1.1 billion, leaving a $700 million hole to be filled by federal stimulus money.

Over the next two years, the state stands to receive some $850 million in federal stimulus funds to support its Medicaid programs. Without this massive infusion of federal stimulus funding, Medicaid as we know it would not exist.

In 2011, the federal stimulus money will run out – but the folks who need Medicaid will still be here. And who are these people?

Nearly one million Alabamians are eligible for some type of Medicaid coverage.

Over 50% of all births are paid for by Medicaid.
39% of Alabama’s children depend on Medicaid for health coverage.
20% of Alabama’s elderly residents are Medicaid eligible.
65% of all nursing home beds in Alabama are funded by Medicaid.
74% of the nursing home residents in participating facilities are eligible for Medicaid.

Next year, hundreds of thousands in Alabama stand to lose essential medical care. This crisis will affect everyone from elementary school children to the thousands of elderly in our nursing homes.

I am the only candidate with a plan to deal with the impending crisis in Medicaid. My proposal to regulate and tax casino gambling in Alabama will protect those in our state who can least afford medical care. As I’ve shown before, based on data from the state of Mississippi, developing casino gambling as a revenue source will stabilize Medicaid in Alabama.

Other candidates in this race aren’t talking about this financial crisis. When the people of this state realize the enormous budget deficits we are facing, they will not be content with abstract speeches and empty promises.

Sometime next spring, you’ll see an array of candidates trying to hurry up and get in the game. Well, I’m already in it. We don’t have time for political theater and gimmickry just to win a primary. We need a candidate who speaks the truth and has the courage to attack the problem head on.

The fact of the matter is that we are in a major crisis and the choice of a lifetime is barreling down the track right at us. The choices are obvious and unbearably painful.

Without new revenue, the choice will be either cutting vital services for our elderly, our children, and the poor, or imposing the largest tax increase in the history of this state.

I find both of these options to be wholly unacceptable, which is why I have proposed a new revenue source for the state of Alabama. We must tax and develop the fastest growing industry in the state –gambling.

Politicians are ignoring the fact that bingo halls are growing faster than kudzu. It’s time to stop playing games and start using the fastest growing industry in our state to help fund our nursing homes and others who depend on Medicaid.

To the seniors of this state I make this promise--when Ron Sparks is your governor, you won’t have to worry about whether or not your services are going to be cut.

To those of you who have family in nursing homes, I promise you that when I’m governor, I’ll make sure that the resources continue to be available to provide your loved ones with the dignity and level of care they deserve.