skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Tuesday, April 29, 2025

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Trump marks first 100 days in office in campaign mode, focused on grudges and grievances; Maine's Rep. Pingree focuses on farm resilience as USDA cuts funding; AZ protesters plan May Day rally against Trump administration; Proposed Medicaid cuts could threaten GA families' health, stability.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Trump marks first 100 days of his second term. GOP leaders praise the administration's immigration agenda, and small businesses worry about the impacts of tariffs as 90-day pause ends.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Migration to rural America increased for the fourth year, technological gaps handicap rural hospitals and erode patient care, and doctors are needed to keep the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians healthy and align with spiritual principles.

Report Ranks Tennessee Among Least Healthy States for Older Adults

play audio
Play

Wednesday, May 24, 2023   

May is Older Americans Month, and a new report shows the Volunteer State is among the bottom of states when it comes to caring for its most vulnerable adults.

America's Health Rankings 2023 Senior Report from UnitedHealthcare ranks Tennessee 42nd in health outcomes for those age 65 and older. Notable challenges include a high prevalence of frequent mental distress, drug deaths, smoking, lack of physical activity, and increased poverty.

Michele Johnson, executive director of the Tennessee Justice Center, said elected leaders are not focused on creating policies to serve all Tennesseans.

"We need to have elected officials to roll up their sleeves and address the health care infrastructure," Johnson asserted. "Expanding Medicaid is vitally important not just for people who are in the coverage gap, which it is important for them, but it's important for older Tennessee because we have health care deserts."

Tennessee is among 11 states to not expand Medicaid. Johnson noted some states are six times more likely to lose a hospital when they have not expanded Medicaid, and she believes expanding Medicaid would strengthen the state's health care infrastructure and economy.

Johnson is also concerned about the unwinding of the public health emergency, which is in the process of redetermining health care for older Tennesseans. She contended state leaders should make it simple and ensure it protects seniors.

"This should be a fair process that is simple and lacking in bureaucracy as possible," Johnson argued. "And unfortunately that right now we're really concerned like hundreds of thousands of people, including seniors, will go without health care, not because they're not eligible but because the process is just so daunting."

The report found about 10% of Tennessee adults age 65 and older are living in poverty.

Dr. Rhonda Randall, chief medical officer of Employer and Individual for UnitedHealthcare, said the comprehensive report found poverty increased overall by 10% between 2019 and 2021.

"We know that's really important because it has impacts on how much of their dollars are they spending on housing, food, medical care and more," Randall explained. "We want to make sure that not only are we seeing that number decrease, where seniors are living in poverty that the communities are aware of it."

Randall noted because of the pandemic, they saw more seniors receive access to home-delivered meals and seniors who were eligible for the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program signed up. She added as we age, nutrition is very important and a decrease in food insecurity by 6% was an improvement, as fewer worried about accessing nutritious food.

Disclosure: UnitedHealthcare contributes to our fund for reporting on Health Issues. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


get more stories like this via email
more stories
A day before Judge Hannah Dugan was arrested, federal authorities apprehended a former New Mexico judge and his wife on charges related to harboring an undocumented immigrant. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Legal experts and advocates are outraged over the arrest of a Milwaukee judge last week who was charged with helping an undocumented defendant avoid a…


play sound

President Donald Trump and Elon Musk have proposed privatizing the United States Postal Service by selling it off to a corporation such as FedEx or UP…

Health and Wellness

play sound

By Brett Kelman for KFF Health News.Broadcast version by Freda Ross for Arkansas News Service reporting for the KFF Health News-Public News Service Co…


Advocates from Compassion & Choices attended a hearing for Senate Bill 403 before the State Senate Committee on Health on April 23. (Patricia Portillo/Compassion & Choices)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A bill to make medical aid in dying permanently legal in California goes before the state Senate Judiciary Committee today. The End of Life Option …

Environment

play sound

A major player in the Northwest's energy landscape is considering changes in the future, as extreme climate events make power delivery in Oregon more …

The Grand Coulee Dam on the Columbia River in Washington is the largest in the Bonneville Power Administration system. (Will/Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

A major player in the Northwest's energy landscape is considering changes in the future as extreme climate events make power delivery in Washington mo…

Social Issues

play sound

On May 1, Oregon labor and immigrants' rights organizations are gathering in Salem calling for justice for immigrant workers and an end to mass …

Social Issues

play sound

LGBTQ+ advocates in South Dakota are reeling from passage of another state law they said harms their community. Now, there is concern possible …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021