Walker County residents have a chance to voice their opinions about Medicaid expansion at a Monday town hall.

The meeting begins at 6 p.m. on April 10 at the Jasper Civic Center activity room.

Alabama Arise, a nonprofit group that works to advance public policies, and Cover Alabama, are hosting the event. Cover Alabama is a nonpartisan alliance of more than 120 advocacy groups, businesses, community organizations, consumer groups, health care providers and religious congregations.

The groups, in a statement, said expanding Medicaid expansion would benefit nearly 300,000 around the state who are caught in a health coverage gap – earning too much to qualify for Alabama Medicaid and too little to afford private health insurance, Alabama Arise and others say. Alabama is one of 10 states that have not yet expanded Medicaid, the groups stated.

Medicaid Expansion would also keep hospitals and clinics open in rural areas and create thousands of jobs in the process, the groups argue.

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey and others, however, have opposed expanding Medicaid – questioning whether the state could afford it.

Monday’s event will be presented by Ryan Hankins, executive director of the Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama (PARCA). He will discuss the economic and budgetary advantages of Medicaid expansion, according to a press release from Alabama Arise.

Other speakers include Rachel Davis Karr, community educator at Children’s Advocacy Center of Walker County; Lila Sears, executive director of Family Resource Center of Northwest Alabama (Daybreak); Debbie Smith, Cover Alabama campaign director at Alabama Arise.