Investing in Rural Health Care

If you live in a city, finding a doctor is usually not a problem. You have options. Specialists, hospitals, urgent care clinics. Help is usually just a few minutes away.

Rural Tennessee is different. In many communities, the nearest hospital is an hour's drive. Finding a specialist can mean traveling to Knoxville, Nashville, or Memphis. And too many primary care physicians are stretched thin, serving far more patients than they can reasonably handle.

This is not a new problem. But it is getting worse. Rural hospitals have been closing at an alarming rate. Physicians are retiring faster than they can be replaced. And the communities that depend on these services are being left behind.

This session, the General Assembly made rural health care a priority.

The budget includes $205 million in Shared Savings funds for health care initiatives, with a focus on Rural Health Transformation Resiliency Grants. These grants will help struggling rural hospitals stay open and continue serving their communities.

We also created a new pathway for internationally trained physicians to practice in Tennessee. There are qualified doctors around the world who want to work in underserved areas. We are making it easier for them to do so, while maintaining rigorous standards for patient care.

On the pharmacy side, we passed the FAIR Rx Act, which eliminates conflicts of interest in the marketplace. When the same company owns both the pharmacy and the pharmacy benefits manager, patients suffer. This legislation prohibits that kind of vertical integration, effective July 2028.

We also expanded step therapy protections for cancer patients. When you are fighting for your life, the last thing you need is an insurance company forcing you to try cheaper medications before approving the treatment your doctor recommends.

These measures will not solve every problem facing rural health care. But they represent a real commitment from the state to address the challenges our communities face. Rural Tennesseans deserve the same access to quality care as anyone else. We are working to make that a reality.