MONTGOMERY — Alabama Democrats in the Senate this morning said they have one priority for the 2013 legislative session now under way: Convince Gov. Robert Bentley to expand Medicaid under the federal Affordable Care Act.

Bentley has said that he won’t allow the expansion because the current Medicaid structure is broken and too costly to the state.

But Democrats say that the state needs to take this opportunity to provide medical care for up to 300,000 Alabamians currently without it. They said the expansion would result in $20 billion in new economic activities and almost $1 billion in state tax revenues over six years.

Senate Minority Leader Vivian Figures, D-Mobile, said Democrats will be “working, pushing and if it comes down to it, fighting” for the expansion.

For more on this story, see Wednesday’s print and online editions.