Dive Brief:
- On Thursday, Community Health Systems of Franklin, TN, announced it was building a 240,000-square-foot office in Nashville.
- A local lawmaker says the system's location decision was in response to local opposition to state Medicaid expansion.
- More than 2,000 back-office jobs from 29 states will now be housed in the new facility; it is unclear how many current employees will choose to move with their jobs.
Dive Insight:
The health system's initial plans were to build the office in Williamson County, which is where its corporate office is located. State Rep. Jeremy Durham claims the switch was made as retribution for Williamson County lawmakers' opposition to state Medicaid expansion. Wayne Smith, Community Health System's CEO, says although he met with lawmakers to ask them to support Medicaid expansion, the decision to move the office to Nashville was "based on business, nothing else, not politics."
If Durham's claim is true, it would be an interesting spin on the battle between hospitals and states over state refusal to expand Medicaid. Will large systems begin to withdraw from states that are reluctant to approve expansions—and how will that impact the landscape in a state like Tennesee, known for both its recalcitrant legislature and hospital chains?
Tenet is getting out of Georgia and North Carolina — two states that are opposed to Medicaid expansion, incidentally. http://t.co/DpOn5VngDJ
— Dan Diamond (@ddiamond) May 11, 2015