Bentley packs Healthcare Task Force with Democrats, Medicaid expansion advocates

MONTGOMERY, ALa. — Governor Robert Bentley (R-AL) signed an executive order Monday morning creating the Alabama Healthcare Improvement Task Force to “address ways to improve the health” of Alabamians. A cursory look at the 38 men and women appointed to the task force shows it to be stacked with advocates for Medicaid expansion.

The governor appointed Dr. Don Williamson, the state’s Health Officer, to chair the task force, which is given the responsibility to find ways to improve the accessibility, affordability, and quality of healthcare for Alabamians. The governor appointed 37 other people to the task force, including legislators, healthcare professionals, and insurance company representatives.

Among those appointed are several members who are on record calling for the governor to expand Medicaid or voicing their support for the idea, including three Democratic members of the state legislature, the policy director of the liberal advocacy group Alabama Arise, and an employee of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama.

Several representatives from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) were also appointed to the task force. In 2014 UAB released a study saying Medicaid expansion would create thousands of jobs and bring increased tax revenue to the state; another study from Troy University later refuted the majority of their claims.

The only two Republican legislators on the task force are the chairmen of the Alabama House and Senate Health committees.

Governor Bentley first announced his intention to form the task force during his State of the State address in early March.

Alabama faces major problems with chronic conditions, Many of our health issues are related to lifestyle choices, poverty and access to quality healthcare.

We must take real steps to reverse the troubling health trends in our state. We have already begun this process by reforming Alabama’s Medicaid system.

As we try to get our people off Medicaid and into private payment programs through job creation we must realize that our hospitals, especially in rural areas, are dependent on Medicaid to survive.

We are establishing Regional Care Organizations and will focus on improved outcomes for patients to help lower costs and better manage the health care services given to those served by Medicaid.

But we cannot allow Federal bureaucracy, and the extremely flawed Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to derail our efforts to make sure Alabamians have good quality healthcare, especially the poorest and most vulnerable.

We know the Healthcare needs in Alabama, and we intend to create solutions that are specific to the needs of Alabama’s people.

Many have interpreted the governor’s creation of the task force and the language he used regarding Medicaid in the State of the State to signal he is now more open to the idea of expanding the program by seeking a waiver for a public-private option similar to the Medicaid expansions in Arkansas and Pennsylvania.

“I want to thank Governor Bentley for allowing me to participate in this important initiative,” Dr. Williamson said after the executive order was signed. “The task force provides an opportunity to develop comprehensive strategies to address critical health issues in Alabama, while strengthening rural healthcare infrastructure and improving access to care.”

Bentley called on the task force to craft recommendations with the intention of introducing legislation reforming and “improving” Alabama’s healthcare system by the beginning of the 2016 legislative session.