NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WMOT) -- Count Tennessee’s extensive network of some 200 community health clinic site operators among those waiting on pins and needles to learn what changes President Trump and Congress will make to health care coverage.
The clinics collectively provide health care to some 370,000 Tennesseans each year, according to the Tennessee Primary Care Association.
Association CEO Kathy Wood-Dobbins says that in recent years President Obama’s signature Affordable Care Act has fueled the opening of new clinics across the state and the expansion of services provided by existing clinics.
“Health centers were able to expand their services to provide oral health care and dental services, which is very profoundly needed in Tennessee for uninsured adults. And also, Community health centers were able to add behavioral health care services as well.”
Wood-Dobbins says uncertainty surrounding the likely repeal of Obamacare is having consequences for her member clinics. She says, for example, that it’s getting difficult to hire new staff.
“Providers are sometimes hesitant to sign contracts, or to make decisions, given the uncertainty. So we hope that there will be more signals and more communication from the new Administration and also from Congress, so that we can begin to get a sense of what to expect.”
Wood-Dobbins notes that if Tennessee’s network of community health centers are adversely impacted by the changes made, it will likely be the state’s rural residents who suffer the most.
In spite of the uncertainty, Wood-Dobbins says she’s “cautiously optimistic” about the future of community care in Tennessee.
