Medicaid expansion will be discussed during a virtual forum Tuesday. It’s the first of two community forums about expanding Medicaid in Tennessee.

The first forum is scheduled from noon to 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, November 2. It will feature professionals discussing the need for expanding Medicaid, a press release said.

The second forum, scheduled for November 16, will feature legislators discussing ways to achieve this goal, the press release said.

“Failure to expand Medicaid in Tennessee is severely impacting the health and welfare of Tennesseans,” the press release said. It said there are more than 300,000 uninsured Tennesseans, and Tennessee is second in the number of hospital closures and leads the nation in terms of hospital closures per capita. Also, many of the uninsured are essential workers whose lack of insurance places them at increased risk just to care for their families, the press release said. And Tennessee is failing to accept $900 million in federal money that would cover the cost of expansion for more than six years, the release said.