WSB/3/4
Sponsored by Joseph Moldawski of Beech High School
This legislation was filed in the Health category
Presented as part of the YIG Volunteer 2024 conference
| 1 | BE IT ENACTED BY THE TENNESSEE YMCA YOUTH IN GOVERNMENT |
| 2 | |
| 3 | Section 1: Terms in this act will be defined as follows: |
| 4 | a. Rural area - open countryside with population densities less than 500 people per square mile |
| 5 | b. Healthcare - the organized provision of medical care to individuals or a community. |
| 6 | c. Ambulance - a vehicle that transports people to a hospital, often red and white. |
| 7 | d. Primary care - healthcare at a basic rather than specialized level for people making an initial |
| 8 | approach to a doctor or nurse for treatment |
| 9 | e. Ambulance desert - an area where ambulances are not available and usually will not come. |
| 10 | f. Small healthcare facility - a four to sixteen bed facility that provides licensed health care |
| 11 | programs and services to residents. |
| 12 | |
| 13 | Section 2: If enacted, 40 ambulances will be made and will include proper equipment and 4-6 |
| 14 | workers each that will be used in ambulance deserts throughout the state of Tennessee. |
| 15 | |
| 16 | Section 3: If enacted, 20 small healthcare facilities and clinics will be established within the rural |
| 17 | areas of Tennessee. These clinics will provide primary medical care to patients in rural areas. Each |
| 18 | small healthcare facility or clinic will have 5-10 workers depending on the size. |
| 19 | |
| 20 | Section 4: If enacted, the cost for primary care in medical facilities will be reduced for people in |
| 21 | rural areas by 10-20% of the normal cost of a primary care visit in Tennessee to make sure that |
| 22 | people in rural Tennessee can have a higher likelihood of being able to afford to go visit a primary |
| 23 | care facility. |
| 24 | |
| 25 | Section 5: If enacted, the cost of an ambulance ride for these ambulances will be reduced by 10- |
| 26 | 15% of the average ambulance ride in Tennessee for people who live in ambulance deserts so they |
| 27 | can have access to these essential healthcare services. |
| 28 | |
| 29 | Section 6: The total budget will consist of the following: $45,000,000 will be used for ambulances, |
| 30 | this includes workers, transportation, and construction. Another $45,000,000 will be used on |
| 31 | healthcare facilities, this includes workers, equipment, construction, and maintenance. The total |
| 32 | cost is $90,000,000 and will be spread out for the course of three to five years. The cost will come |
| 33 | from the Tennessee state budget of $56.2 billion. |
| 34 | |
| 35 | Section 7: All laws or parts of laws in conflict with this act are hereby repealed. |
| 36 | |
| 37 | Section 8: This act shall take effect on January 1, 2025, the public welfare requiring it. |
| 38 |