Legislators work to help former TennCare patients
If TennCare recipients dropped from the rolls fare better than expected, Tennesseans can thank state legislators for bolstering the planned safety net.
Last week the Senate Finance Committee vastly improved on a listless effort by the governor’s safety net task force by beefing up services to the mentally ill as well as county health departments, which could be inundated with disenrolled TennCare patients. The Senate committee found another $27 million to boost the governor’s proposed $76.5 million for safety net landings.
The task force, which was appointed in January, basically rubber-stamped the governor’s plan without fully considering the impact the TennCare cuts could have on health clinics, their staffs and those who are getting kicked off the TennCare rolls. To their credit, members of the Senate Finance Committee did not act so indifferently.
The additions are still not enough to address all the needs of those who may be dropped from the program. Only restored coverage would take care of those needs. Some committee members worried that the addition of funding for safety net took the state closer to the amount it might be spending on keeping TennCare coverage for everyone.
The full impact of the cuts may eventually force that conclusion as well, but the Senate committee’s attempt to better address the pressures on Tennessee health facilities should be applauded.