Governor satisfied with distribution of safety net funds

The governor has said he’s cutting about 190,000 adults from the state public health care program and reducing benefits for thousands of others because the state cannot afford the $8.7 billion program in its current form.

To soften the blow, the state has set aside about $104 million for the safety net program.

But some private and nonprofit health clinic directors across the state are complaining that they haven’t gotten money promised them to hire new physicians or expand clinic hours.

As a result, they say they’re unable to handle the heavy volume of former TennCare patients wanting to see doctors, and have had to turn some people away.

But Bredesen said $73 million of the appropriated safety-net funds have been committed thus far, and he thinks “it would be irresponsible to commit all $104 million in August,” because of unforeseen occurrences down the road.

“We’re three weeks into disenrollments starting, and we’ve got almost three quarters of that money out there,” the governor said. “On the whole, I think it’s a pretty appropriate and satisfactory way to deal with those issues.”

It’s also important to keep in mind that “the safety net is a work in progress,” he said, and that he continues to look for ways to enhance it.

On Wednesday, Bredesen announced that Centerstone, the state’s largest provider of mental health services, is providing $800,000 in free services to its patients who are severely mentally ill and transitioning from TennCare.

“Centerstone is committed to providing a ‘soft landing’ for our clients who are leaving TennCare to help them lead lives focused not on a disability but on family, work and community,” said David Guth Jr., Centerstone’s chief executive officer.

During the soft landing period, Guth said, Centerstone will work with clients and their families to determine individual treatment plans.

In July, Bredesen announced that he was setting aside $11.4 million for a mental health care safety net program to benefit nearly 21,000 Tennesseans with severe mental illness for at least six months.

The funding allows Centerstone and 19 other community-based nonprofit mental health agencies to continue providing many of the essential services that previously were provided by TennCare.

On Tuesday, Bredesen announced that the state has finalized plans for a transitional assistance program for insulin-dependent TennCare patients who are losing coverage.

He said insulin and diabetic supplies will be available through participating local pharmacies beginning this week. The governor has also gotten local pharmacies to provide free generic drugs to people being cut.

“We will continue to fight for people,” Bredesen said Wednesday.