At the recent Alabama League of Municipalities’ 2025 Advocacy Day, a panel of healthcare experts and state officials gathered to address the pressing issues facing Alabama’s healthcare system.
The panel, moderated by Howard Rubenstein, Mayor of Saraland, delved into the state’s challenges around access to care, provider distribution, and the financial struggles of healthcare facilities.
The panel included Kimberly Boswell, Commissioner of the Alabama Department of Mental Health; Ted Hosp, Vice President of Governmental Relations at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama; Mark Jackson, Executive Director of the Medical Association of State of Alabama; Danne Howard, Deputy Director of the Alabama Hospital Association; and Stephanie Azar, Alabama Medicaid Commissioner.
RELATED: Telehealth expands access to health care in rural Alabama
Rubenstein outlined three major problems plaguing Alabama’s healthcare landscape.
“The biggest issue, from my standpoint, is access to care,” said Rubentstein.
“This is a very complex situation, and Medicaid expansion is just one part of it. There’s multiple other facets to it, but the whole access to care needs to be looked at and, in my opinion, revamped.” He also mentioned the maldistribution of healthcare providers, noting that “we do not have a physician shortage in the state of Alabama. It’s simply a matter of distribution.”
He continued on to express concern over the closure of rural hospitals, pointing out, “It seems every time I read I hear about another rural health care hospital closing. We’ve had multiple hospitals close in the state of Alabama, and now recently, right here in Montgomery, it’s my understanding, there’s questions about maintaining services at one of the largest hospitals in our state,”
“And that’s just plain scary to me,” Rubenstein said.
Commissioner Boswell spoke to the need for improved crisis services and mental health care across the state.
“There are a couple of things in Alabama that we need to do to improve access to care in the state of Alabama for behavioral health care. We need crisis services in all 67 counties, and we need civil commitment beds. We now know that you need at a minimum 30 beds per 100,000 individuals Alabama right now is at 13.4 beds per 100,000 individuals,” said Boswell.
Boswell also highlighted the PASS program, a public-private partnership with Children’s Hospital in Birmingham that provides pediatric access to tele-mental health care.
Hosp, Vice President of Governmental Relations at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama, discussed the company’s $24 million rural physician scholarship program, which has already placed 29 practicing physicians in underserved areas.
RELATED: Successful cities start with strong police departments, law enforcement leaders tell local officials
“We recognize there’s also a nursing shortage in rural communities, so we are now providing nursing scholarships as part of this program. We have a maternal care crisis in the state of Alabama, so we are specifically setting aside a portion of those funds for doctors who go on and get the additional certification to be OBGYN and then go into a rural community and practice.”
He emphasized Blue Cross’s focus on prevention and keeping people healthy – rather than just treating them when they are sick.
Jackson, Executive Director of the Medical Association of the State of Alabama also noted the struggles of recruiting physicians. “We’ve got practices all over the state that are trying to bring in new physicians,” said Jackson.
“You’ve got physicians who have retired early from practice, who have, through COVID, got burned out. We need physicians all over the state, and we have a hard time recruiting physicians to come into Alabama.”
Danne Howard, Deputy Director of the Alabama Hospital Association, reemphasized the healthcare crisis in Alabama, the need for mental health funding, and the challenges of recruiting healthcare professionals to rural areas.
“A hospital isn’t just about what happens in the four walls of a building,” said Howard. “There’s an awful lot of outreach and education and partnerships that translate into much more than if you need surgery or if you need to go to the emergency room, and with that comes great responsibility and a lot of opportunity.”
Commissioner Azar of Alabama Medicaid discussed the agency’s efforts to incentivize quality care and the importance of Medicaid funding for the state’s economy.
“We are very vital to your local community, and to voice support for the funding of the program is always good, because it is just so vital to the economy,” said Azar. “We’re bringing in over $7 billion a year in federal dollars that goes out to pay for the help.”
The panel at the Alabama League of Municipalities Advocacy Day highlighted critical challenges facing Alabama’s healthcare system, including access to care, provider distribution, and financial strain on healthcare facilities.
Grace Heim is a state and political reporter for Yellowhammer News. You can follow her on X @graceeheim or email her at [email protected].
