Jamiesfeast – A group of doctors in Tennessee who are part of the healthcare campaign group Protect My Care want Gov. Lee and the General Assembly to make the state’s Medicaid program bigger.
Advocates argue that Tennessee has rejected billions of dollars that could be utilized to assist hardworking individuals in obtaining affordable healthcare.
Dr. Katrina Green, an emergency physician practicing in Nashville, expressed her concerns about the state of healthcare in Tennessee, stating that it is not in a good condition. She highlighted that Governor Lee’s refusal to expand Medicaid has resulted in hard-working Tennesseans being left uninsured and burdened with medical debt, as well as the closure of rural hospitals. This issue is further emphasized by Tennessee’s low ranking of 44th among states for health outcomes, as reported in America’s Health Rankings 2023.
The group said that Tennessee has the most rural hospitals that close each year and that this could stop if Medicaid was made bigger.
According to Green, Tennessee is at the forefront of rural hospital closures. Since 2010, a total of sixteen hospitals have shut down in the state, with thirteen of them being rural hospitals. This alarming rate of closures ranks Tennessee as the second highest in the United States and the highest per capita. Green emphasizes that this situation directly impacts the rural population of Tennessee, contradicting the priority he claims to place on their well-being.