Wilcox, Ala. (WSFA) – Alabama hospital leaders and Congresswoman Terri Sewell, D-AL07, are warning that a new federal healthcare bill could push many rural hospitals, including one in Wilcox county, into deeper financial trouble.
Inside a packed community meeting in Camden, residents talked about whether they’ll still be able to afford healthcare in just a few weeks.
“One employee used to pay $188 a month, but if he reenrolled in the same plan come Jan. 1, he’ll have to pay $1,500,” explained Rep. Sewell, who says he’s not alone.
With the “Big Beautiful Bill” passed by President Trump and Republicans, Alabama was frozen in place financially. No new Medicaid help. No expanded support. And if federal subsidies expire on Dec. 31, nearly 100,000 Alabamians could lose health insurance overnight.
“We didn’t get cut, except we got cut out of opportunities to do better,” said Dane Howard with the Alabama Hospital Association. “We are stuck at status quo, and status quo is not good enough.”
Howard says losing that many insured patients so quickly would hit hospitals hard, especially in rural counties where many facilities are already on the edge.
“So there’s $650 million worth of care that’s provided that we’re not paid for,” she explained. “And we’ll continue to do that because that’s what we do. That’s what we’re required to do, but it is our mission, as well. So add to that another hundred thousand individuals to the already high uninsured rate in the state of Alabama, and logically, you’ll see that that puts even more strain on an already financially strained system.”
For Wilcox county, home to one of the state’s most financially-vulnerable hospitals, Sewell says this isn’t just policy. It’s life or death.
“People are gonna have to make hard choices as to whether they keep their health insurance. And so one of the things we talked about in today’s townhall meeting was how the qualified health centers will be affected, how J. Paul Jones Hospital, right here in Wilcox, will be affected by that, and how healthcare providers, generally, will be affected by it.”
Sewell and hospital leaders say the only way to prevent a deeper crisis is for Congress to extend those subsidies now. They’re urging Alabamians to call their lawmakers before hospitals, families, and entire communities feel the impact.
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