Playing Politics Instead of Making Policy: Tennessee's Refusal to Expand Medicaid is a Political Battle that is Hurting the State

The Medicaid expansion under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) has been at the center of the heated political debate on healthcare in the United States. Since the Supreme Court’s decision in 2012, which held that Medicaid expansion is optional for states, some states have chosen to expand Medicaid under the ACA while others have completely refused. A handful of states have elected to expand Medicaid under a modified plan, which generally uses federal Medicaid funds to purchase private insurance for low-income residents.

Tennessee proposed such a modified plan to expand Medicaid (“Insure Tennessee”) that would allegedly provide more coverage for residents while not creating any new taxes. Unfortunately, the proposed bill was quickly defeated in a special committee meeting held on February 4, 2015. This presentation will assert that Tennessee’s failure to pass the Medicaid expansion is a result of political antagonism that leaves many residents uninsured and threatens the foreclosure of some local hospitals.

The presenter will explain the details of Insure Tennessee and the benefits residents and hospitals in the state would have likely received. Moreover, the presenter will contend that the state’s refusal to implement the plan stems more from the state’s political animosity towards the current presidential administration than the uncertainty in the effectiveness of the proposed plan. The political battle between the state and the presidential administration unfortunately comes at the expense of passing valuable and necessary healthcare legislation for the benefit of society.