Thread by @NashvilleResist

We've written a lot of threads on #Tennessee status at the bottom of 50 states on virtually everything from average income to life expectancy. Sadly it isn't a surprise that @TNGOP is now resorting to authoritarianism, since its members lack the skills to lead our state. 🧵

Basically the issue is that @TNGOP "leadership" puts big business/their donors first. They don't even think about average Tennesseans, since those folks don't have big bucks to pour into campaign coffers.

As a result #Tennessee has some of the worst outcomes for residents in the United States. Some of them are comparable to the undeveloped world, not a state in the most powerful country in human history.

(Twitter is broken/indicating Tweets in threads are "unavailable," so we'll be breaking longer threads up into parts to reduce the dysfunction.)

We'll use #TNDeservesBetter to help folks find these threads.

The first thread has to do with life expectancy and medical outcomes.

#Tennessee is #41 of 50 states for life expectancy. People who are born here can expect shorter, sicker, poorer lives than those in most other states.

cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom…

In a related stat, #Tennessee is #45 of 50 states for overall mortality. More people die here overall per capita every year than in other states. Also, we have more deaths than births.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U…

(None of this is a surprise, sadly.)

theguardian.com/us-news/2022/o…

Our medical outcomes are iffy to say the least. #Tennessee is #1 for medical bankruptcy per @TNJusticeCenter.

newschannel5.com/news/medical-n…

This is largely true because Republicans in #Tennessee refuse #MedicaidExpansion - and we're one of only 11 states to do so. (Note headline says 12 states, but NC just implemented it)

urban.org/research/publi….

Our friends at @TNJusticeCenter have discussed this a lot. #Tennessee's failed GOP "leadership" leaves $1.4 BILLION on the table every year through failure on #MedicaidExpansion which could be used to help Tennesseans avoid crushing debt.

tnjustice.org/medicaid-expan…

#MedicaidExpansion would also help Tennesseans avoid driving hours to the nearest medical facility.

Tennessee is #1 per capita in the United States for hospital closures overall per tnhealthcarecampaign.org.

tnhealthcarecampaign.org/wp-content/upl…

Fully HALF of the remaining #Tennessee hospitals are at risk of closure according to recent reports.

timesfreepress.com/news/2023/feb/…

#Tennessee has the worst current policies that reduce instances of medical debt and effectively assist people experiencing debt in the United States.

medicaldebtpolicyscorecard.org

#Tennessee has some of the worst #covid19 outcomes in the world.

https://twitter.com/BrettKelman/status/1624048897457897472?s=20

In recent years #Tennessee has been bottom 10 of 50 states for infant mortality.

cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom…

#Tennessee is bottom 10 of 50 states for child and teen firearm deaths.

childrensdefense.org/policy/resourc…

THREAD #2 ⤵️

https://twitter.com/NashvilleResist/status/1643361491750465538?s=20