Rowland, TN State House Candidate Supports Expanding Medicare

(Editor’s note: This does not imply that Lauren Rider or any other member of the Knoxville City Council have committed their support for candidate Rowland. It only emphasizes that the two entities’ mutually support Medicaid expansion in the State of Tennessee.)

Candidate Elizabeth Rowland for TN State House, and Knoxville City Council members support Medicaid expansion.

KNOXVILLE, TN (May 2020) –  Elizabeth Rowland, candidate for Tennessee State House D16, expressed appreciation to the leadership of Knoxville City Council member Lauren Rider on the issue of Medicaid expansion. Rider this week introduced a resolution proposing Medicaid expansion in Tennessee, which received unanimous support from fellow Council members.

Tennessee is one of only 12 states that have declined to accept billions in federal funds to provide health coverage to its more than 300,000 uninsured citizens, a number that is expected to increase as Tennesseans continue to lose employer-provided insurance due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“No one in our community should die because they can’t afford the cost of health insurance,” said Rowland. “Knoxville City Council member Rider should be commended for taking a stand on behalf of the growing number of Tennessee citizens who are unable to see a doctor or visit a hospital when they are sick or injured.”

While Tennessee has refused to accept available Medicaid funds, the state’s federal tax dollars are being distributed to other states such as California and New Jersey, which approved medical care expansion over 10-years ago. With the adoption of Medicaid expansion in Tennessee, these federal funds would remain within our local communities, including Knoxville and Knox County.

Medicaid expansion would prevent more closures of Tennessee’s shrinking number of rural and center-city hospitals, thus providing care and preserving jobs in some of the most economically vulnerable areas of the state.

“Medicaid expansion isn’t just the right thing to do for Tennesseans’ health, it’s the smart thing to do for Tennessee’s economic health,” said Rowland. “As your state representative, I will work across party lines to ensure that Tennessee expands Medicaid. Thank you to Council Member Rider for proposing this important resolution,
and to all City Council members for supporting it.”

Elizabeth Rowland was born and raised in Knoxville, TN, and attended Knox County’s Bluegrass Elementary School, Farragut Middle School, and Farragut High School. Her mother, practicing attorney and registered nurse, and her father is a former Army Captain, Vietnam War veteran, and State Representative, inspired Elizabeth’s inclination for public service.

To learn about the candidate’s platform, visit www.voteelizabethrowland.com