This is a guest opinion column

As a caregiver for someone with cancer, I know all about the importance of having access to health coverage, which gives people the best chance to prevent, detect, treat and ultimately survive the disease. Unfortunately, lawmakers in 10 states, including Alabama, are turning down billions of federal dollars that would help with this issue.

I recently attended a sneak preview of the film “In Due Season” at the Stonetank Antioch Missionary Baptist Church in Montgomery. The film tells the stories of three people living in the coverage gap – where they make too much money to qualify for Medicaid, but not enough to afford private insurance.

People living in the coverage gap are hardworking and deserve access to health care. The film highlights the injustice and perpetuation of historic and racial health inequities that Black communities have faced for centuries, leading to particularly high cancer rates.

Please join me in calling on our Alabama governor and lawmakers to close the coverage gap. As a volunteer for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, we are committed to bringing about this change. To learn more about the film, visit here.

Erica Denson, of Montgomery, is a volunteer with the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network