Our 10th hospital closure in 8 years. In a rural area.
Let’s break this down.
Some Tennesseans are fortunate to have health care coverage provided by their employer.
Some Tennesseans qualify for Medicaid, because they are young, old, disabled, etc.
However, there are 300,000 folks (20,000 of whom are veterans who don’t qualify VA coverage), who fall in the gap. They’re working people, but have no healthcare coverage.
These folks, like the rest of Tennessee’s population, suffer from the same treatable diseases: cancer, diabetes, heart disease. But because they have no coverage, they don’t get the necessary treatment to stay healthy.
When they are so sick they can no longer work or care for their families, they present at our Emergency Rooms. This is the most expensive delivery of care, but as you can imagine, this is their only option.
These ERs treat these patients, because our society has determined that as a nation, we will not turn people away when they are at the neediest point in their lives.
Without insurance reimbursement, over time, these hospitals are eventually forced to close. Those employees lose their jobs, the county is left without a hospital, a higher burden and cost is placed on other counties to provide service. Local economies are impacted by this loss, and have to cut services, increase property taxes, or both.
I recognize that there may be additional economic factors that affect the operation of our hospitals. Whatever the mix of reasons, this continues to happen while the Republicans have total control of Tennessee state government.
10 in 8 years.
When Tennesseans send in their federal tax dollars, they have paid into the Affordable Care Act, and were that money come back to Tennessee, those 300,000 uninsured folks can get covered and receive the health care and treatment they need — to keep working and care for the themselves and their families.
Our Republican supermajority has refused. Our Republican governor has developed Insure Tennessee, the program that brings those federal tax dollars to Tennessee. Still the Republicans refuse. They won’t even bring it for a vote.
This adds not one penny to the Tennessee state budget.
THIS CARE IS ALREADY PAID FOR, BY TENNESSEANS’ TAX DOLLARS.
The sick get sicker. They sickest go to ERs, where they are treated, but at later stages of their illness, which requires more treatment, hospitalization, and medication. Hospitals cut costs, trim services, and eventually close.
Over and over and over.
There are at least 30 more rural hospitals at risk of closing because of this identical scenario. The impact of the new Republican Donor Relief Act will compound this, affecting 13,000 hospital employees and the ripple effect in the communities.
If the humanitarian message does not touch the people you share this with, if they are not moved by their friends and neighbors, who are working, sick, until they simply cannot anymore, then perhaps the economic message will appeal to them:
When these working folks receive the healthcare they so desperately need, they can continue to work. And care for their families. And buy cars, and go to restaurants. And pay taxes.
I’m fighting to bring this care to Tennessee. I’m running blue, hard, in a red state.
Please join me in my fight to protect our people, our hospitals, their employees, and our communities.
Tennessee 2018 - Gayle Jordan
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