Republican Legislator Blames Failure Of Insure Tennessee For Latest Rural Hospital Closure

[TexasTowelie]

Tennessee's reluctance to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act is still being blamed for the high number of hospital closures in the state — the most in the U.S. outside of Texas. And this week brings one more. The Decatur County Commission decided to close its only hospital this week, citing the increased taxpayer subsidies.

Decatur General Hospital has struggled to keep its doors open for years, inking a management deal with Springfield-based NorthCrest Medical Center in 2016. The remote facility claimed harm from some of Obamacare's new admission standards that drove down insurance reimbursement. Meanwhile, the hospital did not get the intended benefit of more people with insurance.

The rural county of 11,000 on the banks of the Tennessee River is represented in the state legislature by Republican Steve McDaniel, who says more folks on TennCare would have helped.

"I can tell you this, that if we had expanded the Medicaid program as Governor Haslam had proposed, this hospital likely would not have closed," McDaniel said.

Read more: http://nashvillepublicradio.org/post/republican-legislator-blames-failure-insure-tennessee-latest-rural-hospital-closure#stream/0

[Demtexan]

1. So it begins.

No.insurance no hospitals.

[duforsure]

2. The tax scam

With this tax scam they'll have 20-30 million that will lose their insurance, lowering these smaller hospitals intake and revenue's, putting them into bankruptcy, and closures. The rural area's will see the biggest impact from the reductions , including reductions in Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security, again with an increase in taxes for the middle class and poor this will snowball on them , and cause even more to close, and force many to drive quite a bit further to receive treatment. The insured will see a 20-40% increase in premiums also reducing the affordability to go get care when needed. Add up all the costs associated with their tax scam and other new costs from policy changes and watch how many already on the bubble begin closing their doors. Remember they celebrated millions losing their health insurance , and billionaires getting billions from it. The smaller market area's will be devastated from this.

[Demtexan]

3. Knew this would happen.

Trump voters brought this on themselves.

Other people will have to suffer to.

Maybe this has to happen.

[sinkingfeeling]

4. Ain't seen nothin' yet. With the GOP's slashing of the ACA, there

probably will be only a handful of rural hospitals left standing.

[Demtexan]

5. All hospitals will suffer to some degree.

Got to have paying customers to stay open.