How Republican majority in Tennessee State House placed you at higher risk for COVID-19

SARS-CoV-2 virus

Indeed. That is a pretty harsh title and I better have some proof for this statement. Sadly, I do. This might be a bit wonkish, but the bottom line deals with the budget cuts of the Tennessee Public Health system which then translates to cuts in county public health offices. These cuts seem endless, as if public health is an afterthought to the Republican majority and one that barely seems to register with them. Until now. Get ready for stammered excuses, long winding reasons, and all the other ways they will try to explain this away. But they cannot. Just go to the Tennessee Base Budget Reductions pages for the fiscal years beginning with 2016 and culminating in the proposed 2020/21 budget. The story is all there.

There is a caveat. Sometimes they cut state funds due to federal funds taking up the slack. For instance, FY 2016-2017 shows how a Federal Health Center Cluster grant worked that way (despite Republicans insistence the Federal government is too big - it bailed them out here). However, they did cut four vacant positions in the public health system for a total loss of $513,000 to TN public health budget. They don’t provide what these positions did, but certainly, capabilities were degraded by the loss.

In FY 2017-2018, in their wisdom, they cut a full-time Epidemiologist who was responsible for policy planning and assessment. Epidemiology is the “ branch of medicine which deals with the incidence, distribution, and possible control of diseases and other factors relating to health (Webster Medical Dictionary).” So they reduced the capabilities of the office which would work on controlling the spread of SARS-CoV-2 and reducing instances COVID-19. Just to squeeze on the last dime, they also cut a Tennessee Disability Coalition survey contract as well.

In FY 2018-2019, they cut five positions that related to administration, policy, planning & assessment, and health services. Again, cutting these types of positions means chaotic coordination, missed deadline & opportunities, and other degraded capabilities which are badly needed during an epidemic.

At the risk of sounding monotonous, FY 2019-2020 was just more of the same. Public health policy, planning, and informatics had another cut of about $88,000 out of an already reduced budget.

Finally, the proposed budget for FY 2020-2021 has, among other cuts, a reduction of $345,700 in “Communicable and Environmental Disease and Emergency Preparedness” to keep in line with their actual expenditures. In other words, the Republican leadership reduced their capabilities over the years and then grabbed the money saved for other things. They might want to re-think this cut.

I do not know why Tennessee Republican leadership is so hellbent in reducing the very programs that help Tennesseans remain healthy. But they do.

When we are hit by the SARS-CoV-2 virus and folks begin to get sick…the folks on the ground who work for public health will be by our side. They will work hard and at great risk to help us minimize the impact. I have no doubt they will be heroes if Anderson County is sadly hit hard by this illness.

Too bad the Tennessee Republican leadership doesn’t have their backs.