Tennessee to End Expanded Medicaid Program

[Freddie Stubbs]

By MATT GOURAS, Associated Press Writer

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The governor announced plans Wednesday to dissolve Tennessee's expanded Medicaid system and drop 430,000 poor and disabled people from the rolls of the health-care program that has been devouring a large chunk of the state budget.

Democratic Gov. Phil Bredesen said Tennessee will instead return to a cheaper, more basic Medicaid program.

The move followed months of legal wrangling over the TennCare program, whose $7.8 billion price tag was projected to mushroom in coming years.

The governor held out some hope for saving the program, saying he will try for seven more days to work out an agreement with advocates who have won several court decisions about the level of health care the state must provide to TennCare recipients. But he said such a deal is unlikely.

more: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=519&ncid=519&e=1&u=/ap/20041110/ap_on_re_us/tennessee_medicaid

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. Isn't America great?

We won't have one of those 'welfare states' like they have in the EU, where there's universal free health coverage, free education, and pensions. No, no! We'll make sure the poor, especially the working poor, pay taxes out the nose and lose all benefits and hope of benefits while the CEO/fat cats reap the rewards.

Funny, they say Europe isn't religious any more, but it seems to me they have more social morals that the US does.

[flaminbats]

11. with John Linder's National Sales tax it can be even greater..

Linder and Bredesen must have been separated at birth, ahhh great minds do think alike.

[NashVegas]

2. A Statistic the AP Story Left Out

from local station, http://wtvf.com

The average number of prescriptions per person in the US is 10, but for TennCare enrollees it's 30.

How much of that does anyone want to speculate is fraud?

Everytime I've gone to a specific local clinic, I've been given prescriptions that went well beyond my needs.

One time, Doctor Feelgood looked at me and asked, "you get tension headaches, don't you?" "No, not really." "Yeah, I think I remember you saying that last time. Try this." And he wrote me a prescription for a barbituate. Being fairly naive, I had it filled. Never took one of them once I saw the list of side effects. $40 worth of useless pills on a $10 co-pay.

[katusha]

3. Republicans to poor: "Drop Dead!" n/t

[Freddie Stubbs]

5. Did you even read the article?

Here is the 2nd paragraph:

Democratic Gov. Phil Bredesen said Tennessee will instead return to a cheaper, more basic Medicaid program.

In the words of Mark Knopfler, "Please try to pay attention."

[happynewyear]

7. totally screwed no matter who did it

<< TennCare provides health care coverage for the poor, uninsured and disabled, covering 1.3 million Tennesseans, or about 22 percent of the state population. If TennCare is eliminated, some 430,000 of them would be dropped entirely, largely families of the working poor and those whose ailments and high medical bills make them uninsurable. >>

I read this part and frankly I don't give a damn what/who their governor is. This is going to have a very negative impact on certain people as they NAME above.

Really sucks bigtime.

[tabasco]

8. Do you think the Governor had a choice?

It doesn't matter if it was a D or an R. The money from the federal government is gone and the States don't have a choice whether to cut services or not. This is just the beginning in widespread cuts in services to working people. In the words of gsh999, please see the big picture.

[Freddie Stubbs]

10. Oh course he had a choice

He could have cut money from other programs or raised revenues to pay for this. But he did not.

[flaminbats]

9. I read it..

finally..a DINO even worse than Zell Miller! :puke:

[happynewyear]

4. and to the disabled ...

find someone else to help you get out of that wheelchair, or better yet just die you useless piece of crap! :grr:

[Sandpiper]

6. Setting them on the ice floes

Put out or get busy dying!!!

Compassionate Conservatism at work.

[Cambist]

12. I work at TennCare

I am an EDS employee. I have been on the TennCare project for it's ten year existence. You have no idea how much crap goes on behind the scenes. What a nightmare. I have worked non-stop for two years designing and implementing the new system and now they say we are going back to Fee For Service. I just want to scream.

dlh :o(

[Lefty48197]

13. Waited a whole week after the election eh?

I'm sure the timing is just a coincidence.

[flaminbats]

15. Gore should challenge Bredesen in the primary..

This would win enable him to win back the support needed among Democrats for the nomination in 2008. Gore would again be a serious contender for President by winning his home state.

defeating Phil Bredesen in 2006 would kill two birds with one stone..

[Freddie Stubbs]

16. I'm not that sure how popular Gore still is in Tennessee

http://www.uselectionatlas.org/USPRESIDENT/state.php?year=2000&fips=47&f=1

[flaminbats]

18. abolishing Tenncare doesn't help Bredesen..

especially if this recession becomes worse. In two years his high approval ratings will sink to a new low.

[Freddie Stubbs]

21. Even if Gore could beat him in the primary,

I'm not sure that he could win a gerneral election against a strong candidate.

[flaminbats]

23. doing this would increase Gore's political stock in 2008..

voters are usually split in supporting new public welfare programs, but when it comes to Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security voting taxpayers are united in opposition to abolishing programs they believe they have already paid for.

[Freddie Stubbs]

25. But Tennessee has been trending Republican recently

And the big question is how do you pay for these programs? Would TN voters be willing to pay for a tax increase (or the creation of an income tax) for a program that provides health benefits to the poor?

[Tanuki]

14. no state income tax

Something the article doesn't mention is the fact that Tennessee does not have a state personal income tax, and relies on a high and very regressive sales tax (including tax on food, medicine, and clothing) for more than half of its revenues. The population is overwhelmingly against a state income tax, which could fund health care and much more, so there is plenty of blame to go around on the TennCare issue.

[Lilli]

19. Yeah...well we do have a lottery now

would be nice to see some of that revenue used for tenncare :(

[Yavin4]

17. Medicaid Is For Those Below or Near The Poverty Line

For working class people (See WalMart workers), they don't qualify for Medicaid. They're poor, but they cannot get Medicaid. Tenn. was trying to bridge that gap, and if Kerry had won, he would've also bridge that gap by expanding Medicaid.

Here's the thing everyone needs to keep in mind. The majority of the jobs that are being created are temporary service work that offer no health benefits at all. That's the Bush Economy. You work for a brief period of time, then you don't work for a brief period of time. You're poor, but because you work, you don't get Medicaid.

We have a health care crisis on our hands. More and more Americans will not have any coverage at all, given the types of jobs that are being created.

[Lilli]

20. I'm one of those uninsurables who would be dead right now if

I hadn't qualified for Tenncare. I just finished chemo for a very agressive cancer, and will most likely be one of those people dropped when he decides to pull the plug. I have to rush and get needed surgery before he decides to stop the program, rather than giving my body enough recoup time.

I'm sure the system has problems, but there really should be a better way to handle it than cancelling it...

[tnliberaldemocrat]

24. I can sympathize...

my son was on TennCare for a couple years until my wife became eligible for insurance at work.

But something has to be done with the program. And Gordon Bonnyman and these other advocates are standing in the way. If they were honestly willing to work with Bredesen, mayve it can be saved. But I'm not betting on it.

[happyslug]

22. Background on Medicaid and Welfare.

Remember Medicaid is a joint Federal-State program, where the Feds will match whatever any state will pay for Medicaid or Welfare. No State (that I Know of) goes to the Federal limit for welfare (Which is the "Standard of Need" Set by the Feds in 2004 at $564.00.

Simply put each state can double the money going to its welfare recipients if any state would max out the federal grant. The States refuse and often balance their budgets by cutting welfare (and giving up the matching funds).

Do to this the Fed came up with the CHIP program (NOW SCHIP) which is to help people not eligible for Medicaid but still low income. This is 90% Federally Funded but the state's hate it for people hear of it, sign up for it, and are denied FOR THEIR INCOME IS SO LOW THEIR ARE ELIGIBLE FOR MEDICAID. State than have to pay their 50% co-share instead of the 10% co-share. SCHIP has been called a "Medicaid magnet" for it attracts to Medicaid people who are eligible for Medicaid but have not signed up for Medicaid (Not knowing it was available for them).

For information on Medicaid see:
http://www.cms.hhs.gov/states/default.asp

For information on SCHIP (Formerly CHIP) program:
http://www.cms.hhs.gov/schip/consumers_default.asp

Information on Tennessee Medicaid Program:
http://www.state.tn.us/tenncare/