Last week, Insure Tennessee, Gov. Haslam's plan to expand Medicaid, died in committee when seven of 11 state senators voted down a plan to bring health insurance coverage to the poorest Tennesseans. This gang of seven Republicans -- Mike Bell, Janice Bowling, Todd Gardenshire, Frank Nicely, Brian Kelsey, Kerry Roberts and Rusty Crow -- has not only left us in deep trouble by refusing to protect both the lives and the livelihoods of Tennesseans, but has also revealed some important truths about the essence of their party.
We hate the poor. If you are poor, Republicans don't care about you or your life. They don't want to provide you with medical insurance coverage even if it is at little to no cost to our state. Bottom line: Your life and your health do not matter to them.
T. Robert HillWe aren't interested in creating jobs. If you want more jobs in Tennessee, don't look to Republicans to help. A study released recently by the University of Tennessee's Center for Business and Economic Research found that Insure Tennessee would support 15,000 full-time jobs and would bring $1.14 billion into Tennessee's economy, creating $909 million in new income for state residents. But because the gang of seven killed the plan in committee, that money and those jobs will never make it to our state.
We don't want the health care business to thrive. If you are in health care as a hospital owner, shareholder, manager, doctor or staff, Republicans don't care enough to support your business. The Tennessee Hospital Association, the Tennessee Business Roundtable and the Tennessee Medical Association all knew this bill would be a boon to not only getting patients better care, but also to their bottom line. In fact, state hospitals in Tennessee needed Insure Tennessee to pass so badly that they offered to make up for the state's leftover burden, so the state government wouldn't have to pay anything at all. But still, Republicans said "no dice."
We don't care about our rural constituents at all. If you live in a rural area, Republicans don't want you to have quick access to hospitals and their emergency rooms. After Haslam refused the Medicaid expansion funds in 2013, four rural hospitals have closed in Tennessee, and now 54 more out of 125 hospitals statewide are at risk for closing because of the lack of Medicaid expansion combined with other factors. Without either the ACA's Medicaid traditional expansion or Insure Tennessee, 18 counties are at risk for not having a hospital within their borders at all.
We hate Obama and Obamacare so much that we can justify abandoning any moral convictions we may feel to take care of the poor when they become sick. Even the minister who opened the special legislative session with a prayer asked God to "save Tennessee from the edicts of Washington, D.C." instead of invoking the Beatitudes: "Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy." The Bible's teaching appears lost on the men who voted down Insure Tennessee.
And last, Haslam is so incredibly ineffectual as a leader he has let $1 billion of federal money earmarked for Medicaid expansion slip out of our hands when it could have been saving lives. Instead, he's let our Tennessee tax dollars go to other states to fund their health care. And then once he realized his decision to refuse that money was putting pressure on the economy, killing jobs and closing hospitals, he couldn't even get his own party to pass his plan to right his wrongs.
With the likes of the cruel gang of seven and our governor, these hateful and petty Republicans are obviously incapable of leading Tennessee. Let's vote them out of office as soon as we can.
T. Robert Hill is a lawyer and former chairman of the Madison County Democratic Party.