RESEARCH

NASHVILLE – The Beacon Center of Tennessee today released a policy report outlining several state-led solutions to our nation’s healthcare woes. Over the next few months, Tennessee officials will have to make vital determinations about the implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). Among the decisions confronting policymakers include whether to expand Medicaid and to set up a state health insurance exchange. The report, “A Cure for What Ails Us: State-Led Healthcare Solutions to Fix Washington’s Botches,” addresses these two key issues. The report outlines Beacon’s reasoning for calling on Gov. Bill Haslam and state lawmakers to reject an unaffordable and immoral expansion of Medicaid. And while establishing a state health insurance exchange may sound like the right solution in theory, the report reveals the serious consequences of such action for taxpayers. “Our report articulates the negative effects of implementing PPACA in Tennessee, which will contribute to the degradation of the doctor-patient relationship and the quality of healthcare for our citizens,” said Beacon Center CEO Justin Owen. Even if PPACA is repealed as some candidates for public office have pledged to do, there will still be a strong need for free market reforms to fix our broken healthcare system. “A Cure for What Ails Us” offers a path forward with solutions to drive down the cost of health insurance and healthcare, thereby expanding access to both for all Tennesseans. “Rather than welcoming PPACA’s one-size-fits-all approach to place even more barriers between patients and doctors, state lawmakers should shield Tennesseans from the law’s harmful effects and work instead to implement free market reforms that will actually improve their access to quality healthcare,” stated Trey Moore, the Beacon Center’s director of policy. “A Cure for What Ails Us” breaks down the issues facing our healthcare system through in-depth policy discussions and real life experiences, telling the stories of Tennesseans who are already coping with and preparing for the effects of PPACA. The report can be viewed online at: http://www.beacontn.org/wp-content/uploads/A-Cure-For-What-Ails-Us_web.pdf. The Beacon Center of Tennessee is an independent, nonprofit, and nonpartisan research organization dedicated to providing concerned citizens and public leaders with expert empirical research and timely free market solutions to public policy issues in Tennessee. The Center’s mission is to change lives through public policy by advancing the principles of free markets, individual liberty, and limited government.

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