Democratic nominee for governor and Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox, in a Tuesday speech going after Governor Kay Ivey to the Alabama Retired State Employee Association and Alabama Public Employees Advocacy League, said, “The expansion of Medicaid will be the greatest economic development proposal in this state’s history.”

Maddox advocated for dramatically expanding the socialized health care program for eligible low-income adults, children, pregnant women, elderly adults and people with disabilities.

In a statement, the Ivey campaign signaled this was part of Maddox’s “liberal agenda.”

“Governor Ivey has chosen to focus on governing and creating a brighter future for Alabamians, and it’s paying off,” the statement added, per the Montgomery Advertiser.The type of Medicaid expansion proposed by Maddox, which includes matching federal dollars, is part of the Affordable Care Act – better known as Obamacare – which Sen. Doug Jones (D-Mountain Brook) is currently keeping alive.

Yellowhammer News reported Monday that the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Alabama’s Culverhouse College of Business said the state’s economy under Ivey’s leadership will end this year with a 2.2 percent growth rate, a massive 70 percent increase compared to 2017.

Sean Ross is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn