Governor’s ‘safety net’ plan sends more money to health centers
The so-called safety net for the 225,000 to 323,000 people who will be cut from TennCare sends money to county health centers, charity care clinics, help for the severely mentally ill and other areas.
The state will also be helping the disenrolled get free prescription drug discount cards. The cards are touted as a way to save up to 20 percent on expensive medicines.
The Senate Finance Committee endorsed the plan as part of final negotiations on the state’s budget.
“This was the major piece of the puzzle that needed to be answered,” said Senate Majority Leader Ron Ramsey, R-Blountville.
Most of the safety net plan was released publicly for the first time earlier in the day by a task force set up by Gov. Phil Bredesen shortly after he announced his Tenncare cuts.
Bredesen originally announced plans to save $575 million by cutting 323,000 people from TennCare.
He has recently made an agreement to send another $104 million into TennCare, sparing about 97,000 people from the cuts, if upcoming court decisions go his way.
Tuesday’s plan to spend another $104 million on the safety net — on top of $25 million needed just to administer the cuts — shaves the savings down to roughly $350 million, Ramsey said.
Not only have the savings been reduced, but a lot of people will still lose their TennCare health insurance, he said.
“It bothers me somewhat that we are getting really close to putting the same amount in that we could have into TennCare and not disenroll anybody,” he said.
Despite some reservations, the safety net plan sailed through the Senate Finance Committee.
Lawmakers will have the chance to tinker with it though as they finalize the state’s spending package over the next few days.