Healthcare

A healthcare professional, dressed in white with a stethoscope, administers a vaccine injection to a man in a cream shirt. The man appears relaxed with his eyes closed. Behind them, three women observe; one with dark hair in a blue shirt standing, another with black hair in a blue shirt standing, and a third with curly hair and a backpack. There are posters on the wall with health-related information, including images of children and advice for parents.

The biggest mistake the GOP supermajority made was to decline expanding Medicaid. Thirteen (13) of Tennessee’s rural hospitals closed as a result. How does closing the only hospital in your county, forcing residents to travel hours to the nearest facility, help people? It doesn’t! The number of people dying from treatable conditions has steadily risen since 2015.

Worst of all, the March of Dimes published a report that places Tennessee dead last in the nation for maternal death. We have a maternal death rate that is 80% higher than the average, and it is directly related to the policies and laws that the GOP supermajority has enacted since the Dobbs decision. Tennessee has become a prenatal desert for pregnant women. Additionally, the number of people crossing the state line to get care for anything has also risen. The denial of care is another example of the widening gap between the privileged and the under-privileged.

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