Tennessee Doctors Demand Medicaid Expansion

Physicians speak out on health policy following State of the State

A group of Tennessee doctors affiliated with the healthcare advocacy group Protect My Care is calling on Gov. Lee and the General Assembly to expand the state's Medicaid program.

The advocates say the state has refused billions of dollars that could be used to help working Tennesseans access affordable healthcare.

“Physicians have seen firsthand the state of healthcare in Tennessee, and it is not good,” said Dr. Katrina Green, an emergency physician practicing in Nashville. “Governor Lee continues to refuse Medicaid expansion, leaving hard working Tennesseans uninsured and in medical debt, and closing rural hospitals. Tennessee ranked 44th among states for health outcomes in the recently released America’s Health Rankings 2023 report."

The group noted that Tennessee leads the nation in rural hospital closures and that expanding Medicaid could end that trend.

Green said, "Tennessee is leading the nation in rural hospital closures. Sixteen hospitals have closed in Tennessee since 2010, and 13 of those have been rural, the second highest rate in the United States and the highest per capita rate. This is harming the rural Tennessee population he claimed to prioritize in his remarks last night.”

Doctors at the 2024 State of the State in NashvillePhoto byProtect My Care