TN hospitals oppose GOP’s Obamacare replacement plan

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Tennessee Hospital Association has come out against a new plan in Congress to repeal and replace the Obama health care law, saying the proposal poses “a dark forecast for the future of hospitals in Tennessee.”

THA, which represents 147 acute-care hospitals and health-care facilities across the state, said in a statement Friday that Obamacare has been a challenge. Obamacare is the informal name for the Affordable Care Act.

But the organization said it believes more will lose coverage under the new House GOP bill because it reduces the amount of federal aid people would get to help them pay for their insurance.

“Primarily, we believe a significant number of the roughly 230,000 Tennesseans currently covered could lose their coverage because of an inability to pay for insurance due to significantly reduced federal subsidies,” said THA president and CEO Craig Becker.

THA is affiliated with the American Hospital Association, which announced its opposition to the new proposal earlier this week.

In Tennessee, THA is concerned that the new plan would mean hospitals are going to have to provide free care for more uninsured people while getting even less money to treat Medicaid patients.

Note: The full AP story is HERE; the THA press release is HERE.