Potential law change spells danger for rural West TN hospitals
SEE ALSO: Impact of Tennessee’s Certificate of Need law revealed
JACKSON, Tenn. — Some hospitals in West Tennessee feel they could be in danger if potential changes to the law are made.
The Certificate of Need law in Tennessee requires facilities to demonstrate that there is a specific need in the community for a particular service, and this law may soon change.
Amy Garner, the Chief Compliance Communications Officer for West Tennessee healthcare, tells us how this could affect our local hospitals.
“Hospitals are concerned that if that law is revised or eliminated, that it is going to impact hospitals in a negative way,” said Garner.
There are many nonprofit hospitals in Tennessee, including West Tennessee Healthcare.
This means that they serve everyone, regardless of their ability to pay.
Garner gives us an example of a possibility that could happen if this law is changed.
“A for-profit company, for example, comes in here and takes away all of the patients who have insurance. Then, hospitals like us would be left to take care of patients that don’t have the ability to pay and we would have no ability to cover those costs,” said Garner.
According to Garner, Tennessee could do a better job at keeping their local hospitals afloat.
She tells us a little bit about why that is.
“Tennessee has had one of the highest levels of hospital closures in the country. Hospitals are currently at risk even more today than they were before because of what has happened during the pandemic. So we need to make sure we are doing all that we can to protect our hospitals in our rural communities,” said Garner.
In a statement released by the CEO of West Tennessee Healthcare, James Ross, he stated that a change to this law could create a devastating effect to rural communities, impacting employment and economic prosperity.
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