Tenncare

[Ed Harrow]

MM, or others in and about Tennessee - what do you know about Tenncare. Any first-hand experiences or other close-to-hand information?

[Memphis Mike]

Hey Ed. The state of Tennessee is broke. I mean as in monetarily. The Governor just kicked thousands out of the system for lack of money. He was "good enough" to spare the children that are enrolled but as far as a lot of the adults are concerned, they are SOL.

I work as a contractor for the state and I'm becoming increasingly aware of the circumstances.

[cs]

Ed I can't add anymore than Mike. I'm not on TennCare, my insurance is through work, but the system is busted and they don't know how to fix it.

Chad

[Memphis Mike]

I will add, government programs are suffering everywhere due to lack of funding. No surprise to me.

[NormMessinger]

Um... would another tax cut help?

[Memphis Mike]

Originally posted by NormMessinger:
Um... would another tax cut help?Well, I guess if you believe in "the trickle down theory" it would. Maybe, just maybe... if we gave the wealthy another tax cut....they just might pour some of the money into the system....

[Ed Harrow]

I'm curious as I just got a "heads up" email related to a person for whom I am her guardian. Issues of the costs of care, and sources of funding are always of interest to those in my situation. While she is not in Tennessee, these issues ($) are spreading, and obviously raise concerns amongst all fulfilling similar roles.

Edited by me

NASHVILLE -- ...

On Jan. 10, Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen, a Democrat elected in 2002 on a promise to rescue TennCare, announced he is cutting 323,000 low-income adults from the program and limiting services for 400,000 others. ...Bredesen said that Tennessee's expanded Medicaid program is devouring the state budget ...cannot afford what had been hailed as one of the most generous government health plans in the nation.

...

The announcement sent shivers through health care advocates nationwide ... A day later, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) proposed giving Medicaid clients vouchers for private health coverage, making Florida the first state to let insurers set benefits for poor clients. And this week, New York Gov. George E. Pataki (R) is scheduled to slash $1 billion from his state's Medicaid program.

...

The TennCare saga -- from its historic creation a decade ago ... illustrates the nation's struggle to provide medical care for millions of Americans who are not poor enough to qualify for Medicaid but not wealthy enough to afford private insurance. In a move hailed as a national model, Tennessee leveraged additional federal money to offer a more modest package of managed-care benefits to traditional Medicaid clients as well as the working poor who were uninsured.

But years of mismanagement ... an aversion to higher taxes and managed care, and runaway prescription drug spending ... a severe retrenchment ... from one of the broadest, most creative programs to one that will now barely exceed the minimal coverage guaranteed under federal law.

...

In a state where nearly 25 percent of the residents and 40 percent !!! (my comment)of all births are covered by TennCare, the impact will be felt in many quarters.

The state will lose $1.1 billion in federal matching money. Nashville General Hospital CEO Roxane Spitzer expects to lose $12 million in revenue from patients who had been covered by TennCare; other hospitals say they may be forced to close.

Law enforcement officials ... mentally ill patients cut off TennCare will put new strains on the criminal justice system.

...

...
Tennessee's surplus last year was between $170 million and $600 million.

Even with such bitter feelings and management woes, TennCare achieved medical successes in the years since Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.), before his election in 1993, and then-Gov. Ned R. McWherter devised the idea.

...