New TN Hospital Flooded During Helene; Now, Thanks To Big Shitty Bill, There's A Good Chance That It Will Never Reopen

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When Hurricane Helene forced a rural Tennessee hospital into a dramatic rooftop evacuation last September, its top executive vowed to rebuild the damaged facility as he watched the rescue unfold from a washed-out bridge. That promise is now in peril because of the One Big Beautiful Bill.

Ballad Health CEO Alan Levine “said a prayer” as he ordered more than 50 medical providers and patients at Unicoi County Hospital to go to the roof as floodwaters from the nearby Nolichucky River suddenly surged on Sept. 27, 2024. Hours later, he and state lawmakers watched from the damaged bridge as helicopter crews rescued survivors from the inundated hospital. “We drove over to the bridge to see it with our own eyes, and it was devastating,” Levine recalled in an interview with POLITICO’s E&E News. “Literally driving back, I said, ‘We are going to rebuild this thing, and we are not going to abandon this community.’”

But that was before President Donald Trump pressed Congress in July to pass his big tax and spending law, which slashed more than $1 trillion from health care programs and could lead to an estimated 11.8 million people losing their health insurance. It also included cuts to what’s known as the provider tax, which nearly all states use to increase Medicaid payments to hospitals, in part to help them fund services in rural communities where providing care may not otherwise be financially possible.

By one estimate, the law’s tax cuts could force more than 300 rural hospitals to close. In Erwin, Tennessee, it may mean Unicoi Hospital never reopens, leaving the county without any hospitals or emergency rooms. “This is going to be a bloodbath if something isn’t changed,” said Levine, a Republican who once led Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ health care transition team. “The issue isn’t just about Unicoi and whether it reopens, it will be about how many hospitals we can even keep open.”

EDIT

https://www.eenews.net/articles/floodwater-engulfed-a-hospital-then-came-the-megalaw/

Unicoi County TN - General Election Results 11/5/2024
Trump/Vance - 6,876
Harris/Walz - 1,578
https://unicoivotes.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/2024-11-05-GENERAL-RESULTS.pdf