Healthcare in Tennessee: Access to Care Shouldn't Depend on Where You Live

When we talk about healthcare, I think we sometimes make the conversation more complicated than it needs to be. For me, it starts with a simple question: When you or someone you love needs care, can you get it?

Can you find a primary care provider? Can your child see a doctor? If you're struggling with your mental health, can you find someone to help? If there's an emergency, is there enough capacity to care for you? And can you afford the care you need without putting your family's financial security at risk?

For too many Tennesseans, the answer to one or more of those questions is "no".

Tennessee is home to some of the best hospitals, medical schools and healthcare organizations in the country. We should be proud of that. But having world-class healthcare in our state isn't the same thing as every Tennessean having access to healthcare.

The numbers show we still have work to do.

Tennessee Has a Healthcare Workforce Shortage

One of our biggest challenges isn't a lack of talented healthcare professionals. It's that we simply don't have enough of them in many of the places they're needed.

According to federal healthcare workforce information reported by the State of Tennessee, 93 of Tennessee's 95 counties contain federally designated primary care Health Professional Shortage Areas, either throughout the county or in portions of it. The same report identifies 93 counties with federal mental health shortage designations.

Tennessee's own healthcare workforce program reported that 93 counties had healthcare workforce shortage designations in 2025.

Think about that for a moment.

We have 95 counties in Tennessee, and healthcare workforce shortages affect communities in nearly every one of them.

Mental healthcare deserves particular attention. The Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services reported that, as of January 2025, 93 of 95 Tennessee counties were designated mental health professional shortage areas, with 91 counties experiencing a shortage across the entire county. The department also reported continuing difficulty recruiting and retaining qualified behavioral health professionals.

We cannot seriously talk about improving mental health in Tennessee without talking about the people who provide that care.

We need more physicians. More nurses. More counselors and behavioral health professionals. And we need policies that help Tennessee recruit them, train them and give them reasons to build their careers in the communities that need them most.

Rural Hospitals Are Still at Risk

Our healthcare workforce isn't the only concern.

A July 2026 analysis from the Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform found that 19 rural Tennessee hospitals were at risk of closing, including 12 considered at immediate risk.

A hospital closure isn't just the loss of a building.

It can mean a longer drive to an emergency room. It can mean losing maternity services, laboratory services, imaging and routine care. It can make recruiting physicians and other healthcare professionals even more difficult. And it can have economic consequences for a community where the hospital may also be a major employer.

We cannot wait until the doors close to decide rural healthcare matters.

Tennessee has an opportunity to address this. New state and federal investments are being directed toward rural healthcare transformation, including workforce development, maternal health, behavioral health, technology and new ways of delivering care in underserved communities. The Tennessee Department of Health has established goals around improving rural health outcomes and expanding access.

I want us to make sure those investments produce measurable results for Tennessee families.

Mental Healthcare Is Healthcare

I also believe we have to stop treating mental healthcare like it's somehow separate from healthcare.

It isn't.

When 93 of our 95 counties have mental health professional shortage designations, we have a statewide access problem.

That affects children struggling at school. It affects families trying to find counseling. It affects veterans and first responders. It affects people struggling with addiction, depression, anxiety and crisis.

And telling someone to “get help” doesn't accomplish much if that help isn't available when they reach for it.

Tennessee needs to continue growing its behavioral health workforce, expanding access to appropriate community-based treatment and supporting programs that bring professionals into underserved communities.

Mental healthcare should be available before someone reaches a crisis.

Health Insurance Doesn't Always Mean Healthcare Access

Coverage is another part of this conversation.

According to the latest U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts data, 11.6% of Tennesseans under age 65 are without health insurance, based on 2020–2024 estimates.

But insurance alone doesn't solve the problem.

Someone can have an insurance card and still struggle to find a nearby provider accepting new patients. A family can technically have coverage while deductibles, copays and prescription costs make using that coverage difficult.

And having coverage doesn't help enough if the nearest available specialist is an hour away or a community doesn't have enough mental health professionals.

That's why I believe we should measure healthcare policy by something more meaningful than how many people have an insurance card.

Can Tennesseans actually get the care they need?

That should be our measure of success.

Healthcare Access Is a Wilson County Issue, Too

It's easy to think these problems only affect distant rural communities.

They don't.

Wilson County demonstrates why healthcare capacity has to be part of the conversation about responsible growth.

Our community has experienced tremendous population growth. As we add homes, businesses and families, we have to make sure the infrastructure supporting those families grows with us.

Healthcare is infrastructure.

A 2025 Tennessee Health Facilities Commission analysis examining emergency care capacity found Wilson County had approximately 0.17 emergency treatment rooms per 1,000 residents — less than half the statewide rate of 0.38.Among Tennessee counties with populations greater than 75,000 included in that comparison, Wilson County was tied for the lowest emergency treatment-room capacity per resident.

That's something we should pay attention to.

It doesn't mean Wilson County doesn't have outstanding healthcare professionals. We absolutely do.

It means we need to plan ahead.

The same way we talk about whether our roads, schools, water systems and public services can accommodate growth, we need to ask whether our healthcare infrastructure can accommodate it too.

Maternal Healthcare Remains Another Challenge

Healthcare access also matters tremendously for Tennessee mothers and babies.

Tennessee's 2025 Maternal Mortality Review found that 76% of pregnancy-related deaths examined for 2022 were determined to be preventable.

Healthcare workforce shortages compound that challenge. Tennessee's federal maternal and child health reporting notes that 32.6% of Tennessee counties lack obstetric providers.

Those aren't statistics we should accept as inevitable.

A woman shouldn't have to wonder whether the care she needs will be available because of the county she lives in.

Improving maternal health requires access to prenatal care, qualified providers, appropriate hospital services, postpartum support, mental healthcare and intervention when warning signs appear.

What Can Tennessee Do to Improve Healthcare Access?

There isn't one bill that fixes healthcare, but there are practical steps Tennessee can take.

As your State Representative, I will support efforts to recruit, train and retain more healthcare professionals in Tennessee, particularly in communities experiencing provider shortages. That includes looking at workforce pipelines, medical education, residency opportunities and effective incentives for professionals who choose to practice in underserved communities.

I will support responsible investment in emergency and community healthcare capacity so growing communities like Wilson County aren't constantly trying to catch up.

I will advocate for stronger access to mental and behavioral healthcare, because Tennesseans shouldn't have to reach a crisis before help becomes available.

I will support efforts to protect access to rural healthcare and essential hospital services, while demanding accountability for how public healthcare dollars are spent.

And I want us to continue looking seriously at affordability and coverage, because healthcare isn't truly accessible if working families can't afford to use it.

Most importantly, I want Tennessee to approach healthcare the way we should approach every major challenge facing our state: look at the evidence, identify what isn't working and invest in solutions that improve people's lives.

My Commitment to Tennessee

I don't believe healthcare should be a partisan talking point.

When your child is sick, you don't care whether your doctor is a Republican or a Democrat.

When a parent needs emergency care, politics isn't what matters.

When someone you love finally says they're struggling with their mental health and need help, the question isn't which party has the better slogan.

The question is whether someone is there to help them.

That's the standard I want Tennessee to work toward.

We have incredible healthcare professionals across this state doing difficult, important work every day. Our job in state government should be to make it easier for them to serve Tennesseans and easier for Tennesseans to reach them.

Where you live shouldn't determine whether you can get the healthcare you need.

And as Wilson County's State Representative, I'll work to make sure healthcare access, mental healthcare and the healthcare workforce remain priorities as our community and our state continue to grow.

Frequently Asked Questions About Healthcare in Tennessee

Does Tennessee have a shortage of healthcare providers?

Yes. Federal shortage designations reported by Tennessee show that 93 of the state's 95 counties contain whole- or partial-county primary care Health Professional Shortage Areas. Tennessee also reports 93 counties with federal mental health shortage designations.

Does Tennessee have a mental healthcare shortage?

Yes. As of January 2025, 93 Tennessee counties were designated mental health professional shortage areas, according to the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services. Ninety-one had whole-county shortage designations.

Are rural hospitals in Tennessee at risk of closing?

Yes. A July 2026 analysis from the Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform identified 19 rural Tennessee hospitals as at risk of closing, including 12 considered at immediate risk.

How many Tennesseans don't have health insurance?

The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that 11.6% of Tennessee residents under age 65 lacked health insurance based on its 2020–2024 QuickFacts data.

What can Tennessee do about healthcare access?

Tennessee can strengthen healthcare workforce recruitment and retention, expand training and residency pipelines, support rural and community healthcare capacity, improve access to mental and behavioral healthcare, address maternal healthcare shortages and ensure public healthcare investments are producing measurable improvements in access.

Sources

1. Tennessee Department of Health / U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration. Tennessee Title V Maternal and Child Health Services Block Grant, 2026 Application/Annual Report. Health Resources and Services Administration.

2. Tennessee Department of Finance and Administration. Healthcare Workforce Shortage Designation — Program Inventory. State of Tennessee, 2026.

3. Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services. 2025 Needs Assessment Summary.State of Tennessee, 2025.

4. Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform. Rural Hospitals at Risk of Closing. July 2026.

5. U.S. Census Bureau. QuickFacts: Tennessee. Population and health insurance estimates, 2020–2024; population estimates updated through 2025.

6. Tennessee Department of Health. Maternal Mortality Review Report 2025. State of Tennessee.

7. Tennessee Department of Health. Rural Health Access for Tennessee's Future. State of Tennessee, 2026.

8. Health Resources and Services Administration. Health Professional Shortage Areas. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. HRSA defines HPSAs as geographic areas, populations or facilities experiencing shortages of primary, dental or mental healthcare providers.