Nashville, TN – This week TN physicians warned TN Senators Blackburn & Hagerty that passing President Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” will harm Tennesseans.
This bill is anything but “beautiful”, so physicians are speaking up to demand that our Tennessee Senators vote NO on what they are calling the “Big Bad Billionaire Budget Bill,” which will impact the health and welfare of our most vulnerable Tennesseans.
This bill makes historic cuts to the basic safety net programs, TennCare and SNAP, while giving tax breaks to billionaires and wealthy individuals, instead of helping working people and families to build good lives. The “Big Bad Billionaire Budget Bill” will mean death for some, and harm to all.
Dr. Amy Gordon Bono, a primary care physician practicing in Middle TN, stated, “We physicians are appalled at the attacks on truth, on science, on healthcare. We know that these proposed healthcare funding cuts and restrictions on proven medical therapies will mean death for some and harm to us all.”
Medicaid and SNAP helps millions of working families, and hundreds of thousands of vulnerable Tennesseans, including children. Cutting these safety net programs to pay for tax breaks for billionaires, and to spend billions of dollars on mass deportations hurts our communities.
Dr. Katrina Green, an emergency physician practicing in Nashville, said, “Here in Tennessee, the number of people without health insurance is currently over 600,000. Because of this, we have seen the highest number of rural hospital closures in the entire country. When rural hospitals close, people have to drive further and further to access medical care. When folks are having heart attacks or going into labor – those precious minutes matter. This Big Bad Billionaire Budget bill will cause at least 250,000 more Tennesseans to be cut off from Tenncare and lose their health insurance.”
Dr. Green continued, “This moment is a Code Blue for Tennessee. Our patients, our neighbors, our hospitals and our communities all need our help. We cannot let heartless politicians pull the plug on our hospitals just to give tax cuts to billionaires.”
Dr. Jill Obremskey, a pediatrician who has practiced for 30 years, added, “This bill will jeopardize the health and development of 1 in every 5 children, by cutting basic food assistance through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). SNAP has been the most effective anti-hunger program in the United States. Medicaid is a lifeline. It ensures access to well-child visits, immunizations, developmental screenings, vision, dental, and hearing care. This bill is not just a budget. It is a blueprint for neglect. We must ask ourselves—what kind of society do we want to be?”
Dr. Laura Andreson, an Obstetrician/Gynecologist practicing in Franklin, stressed how dire the cuts to TennCare will be to the women and families of TN. “Recently, TN was named the worst state in the US for maternal mortality, or maternal deaths, in the years from 2018-2022,” Dr. Andreson pointed out.. “Women are dying at a rate of 41.1/100K- this translates into 189 mothers died in our state during that time frame.
“In 2024 35K women were utilizing TN care in pregnancy,” Dr. Andreson continued. “This represents approximately ½ of the births in TN. These are the families that need support both during and after pregnancy. To deny them insurance will result in less or no prenatal care. This will result in increased complications and, even if they do seek care, health care debt for families.
Dr. Andreson concluded, “This bill also includes a provision to “defund” Planned Parenthood, which would devastate access to basic reproductive health services, like birth control, cancer screenings, STI testing, abortion, and more. Here in Tennessee, 11,000 Tennesseans are served by Planned Parenthood’s 4 clinics. There is nothing beautiful about taking from our patients that need and deserve care.”
Dr. Bono added, “We call on every US Senator–every American–to care about the working mother needing childcare, the impoverished child needing nourishment, the elderly needing nursing care, the self employed American and small business owner— all who drive our economy.
Please help us care for our patients. Please vote against this big bad billionaire budget bill that is anything but beautiful. Our community thrives when everyone is cared for.
BACKGROUND:
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“Big Beautiful Bill” cuts to Medicaid, food aid raise alarm in Tennessee – TN Lookout
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Who Would Lose Coverage if Enhanced Premium Tax Credits Expire – Urban Institute
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By the Numbers: House Bill Takes Health Coverage Away From Millions of People and Raises Families’ Health Care Costs – Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
- 2025 Budget Impacts: House Bill Would Cut Assistance for Children, Raise Costs for Families – Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
- ACOG: Budget Bill Would Cut Off Access to Coverage for Millions of Patients
- 2024 Medicaid and CHIP Beneficiaries at a Glance: Maternal Health
