The Tennessee State Conference NAACP along with a broad coalition of Tennessee Advocacy Organizations, will hold a press conference in Memphis on Wednesday, June 11, at 11 a.m., at the Memphis Branch NAACP office to call on elected officials to protect Medicaid and SNAP funding for Tennesseans. The Senate is expected to vote on proposed life-threatening cuts before the end of June.
Medicaid and SNAP are essential to the health, stability, and future of Tennessee families. Nearly 1.5 million Tennesseans rely on Medicaid for health coverage, including half of all children in the state. Medicaid helps children thrive in school, supports care for serious conditions like cancer and heart disease, and ensures families can access preventive care before emergencies arise. SNAP (formerly known as food stamps) provides nutrition support for low-income families, helping nearly 280,000 children in Tennessee grow, learn, and succeed. SNAP not only improves health outcomes but also plays a key role in reducing child hunger and supporting working parents who are struggling to make ends meet.
The survival of Tennessee’s hospitals is also at risk, especially those in rural areas. A mass loss of Medicaid coverage would result in higher rates of uncompensated care, placing enormous strain on already under-resourced hospitals and forcing some to close their doors. At the same time, cuts to SNAP would increase food insecurity across the state, leaving schools, food banks, and local governments to fill the gap.
Proposed cuts will harm families, deepen poverty, and damage the state’s health and economic infrastructure.
