Posted on 02/04/2005 8:15:40 PM PST by SmithL
WASHINGTON - TennCare advocates want the federal government to help patch up the state's expanded Medicaid program, but Tennessee's Republican senators say the solution won't come from Washington.
Opponents of Gov. Phil Bredesen's plan to limit coverage and cut 323,000 people from TennCare rolls have argued that Tennessee should ask the federal government for more money.
But Sens. Bill Frist and Lamar Alexander said the prospects of financial aid are slim, and the TennCare problems need to be solved at home.
"The answer absolutely must come from Tennessee," said Frist.
The state created TennCare in 1994 by expanding the Medicaid program, reaching out to a larger group of poor, disabled and uninsured residents.
TennCare covers 1.3 million people, nearly a quarter of the state, and costs about $8 billion, with nearly two-thirds of that coming from the federal government.
Without the proposed fix, TennCare would consume $650 million of new money next year; the changes could reduce that number to about $75 million, according to the state.
Though most people agree the state must reform TennCare, advocates like Gordon Bonnyman, executive director of the Tennessee Justice Center, say federal help would bolster the program until it can be reorganized.
The idea of giving a break to struggling state Medicaid programs isn't far-fetched. Officials agreed last year to let Louisiana use millions of federal dollars earmarked for the public hospital system to shore up Medicaid programs instead.
2/3rds is federal money! Someone please explain that crap to me...please.
Why the hell am I paying a single cent for this?
Sorry, TennCare. .."You made your bed, now sleep in it."..are you listening "*itch" $hrillary?
Who's Good? ..to profit "the crazy *itch, $hrillary?
I did not think I could get any madder than I was, but your post did the trick.
The Governor is boxed in. Everytime he starts off in what he knows to be thr right direction, a breeze blows him off course and back to status quo.
The solution is simple.....implement an income tax and then he can pay for what is there now plus expanaions.
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