State Representative Debbie Wood, a Republican who represents part of Chambers County, said this week that sheremains opposed to the expansion of Medicaid in Alabama. She said she fears that the
Mr. Lee, the Tennessee governor, is also an opponent of expanding Medicaid, but this week he announced a $10 million grant program to support hospitals “facing financial strain due to the ongoing response to Covid-19.”
Mr. Presley, the clinic owner, said he applied on Monday, hoping for the maximum disbursement of $500,000. But state officials denied the application because the money is meant only for hospitals that are currently operating. He had hoped to have the old hospital he purchased open by Friday, but that was looking increasingly unlikely. A handful of volunteers had been in the building, he said, “sweeping floors, mopping, getting crash carts fully supplied.”
Expanding Medicaid a long time ago, he said, would have made more sense.
State Senator Richard Briggs, a Republican from Knoxville, Tenn., has been arguing unsuccessfully for a Medicaid expansion bill since 2015. He said that the coronavirus fight in Tennessee has been complicated by deeply ingrained suspicions of the federal government, science and the news media.
Mr. Presley is casting about for other solutions. If elected, he has promised voters he would support President Trump and “strong conservative policy.”
But his first act, he said, would be to “get the federal agencies to consider the reopening of closed hospitals on an emergency basis — instead of when they get to it.”