The TennCare Oversight Committee meets today at the state Capitol and will be reviewing suggested cuts for the health care program. Governor Phil Bredesen wants $200 million from TennCare’s reserves to shore up the state budget, leaving some on the committee shaking their heads.
TennCare Oversight is a joint committee of state Senators and Representatives whose only job is to monitor the state’s Medicaid program. It traditionally offers its own recommendations on plans to change TennCare.
Representative Joey Hensley, a Republican from Hohenwald, says the committee will be analyzing how proposed cuts hurt both hospitals and physicians. He points to the $10,000 limit on hospital stays.
“This $10,000 cap, annual cap, that will cost hospitals about $150 million.”
Physicians argue some patients may legitimately end up in the hospital several times as treatment is worked out.
Hensley is a doctor with a rural practice. Like other doctors, and like hospitals, he’s already facing a seven percent cut in payments for procedures from TennCare, as federal stimulus money goes away.
WEB EXTRA
Dr. Hensley has kept a strong conservative voting record since being elected to the legislature. But he has been a voice for maintaining access to health care through the state’s Medicaid system.
He lined out the overall implications of the TennCare cuts, which include scaling back the rates paid to all providers.
“Well, It’s still seven percent for the doctors, as well as the hospitals. Those cuts were actually implemented last year, but they were sort of paid off by the stimulus we received. So they will be instituted this year, July 1st.”
“So, seven percent rate cut, and actually cutting out physical therapy services, as well as limiting office visits to just eight office visits a year and limiting x-ray and lab procedures to eight a year. So not only is there going to be a provider rate cut, but there will be a limitation on the visits per year.”
Previous stories on this issue:
Budget Proposal Would Cut $201 Million from TennCare
State Senator Wants Another Option if TennCare Cuts Not Approved
Hospitals Agree to Fee in Place of TennCare Funds
Here’s the link to the agenda for the TennCare Oversight Committee meeting for February 22, 2010.
This page should take you to the camera icon where you could watch the meeting on streaming internet at 1:30 p.m.
THE END OF THE COMMITTEE?
Legislators have filed at least two bills to kill the TennCare Oversight Committee because it is deemed too expensive:
HB 2879 Casada/SB 3187 Watson
HB 3908 Lynn/SB 3185 Watson
The assumption among legislators is that if the separate office to oversee TennCare doesn’t exist, the program would be overseen by the House Health & Human Resources Committee and the Senate General Welfare Committee.
A competing bill sets up TennCare as a separate, cabinet level department.
That bill should probably be treated as a “caption bill,” one submitted to be amended. If the governor wanted a cabinet level TennCare presence, he could simply do it by executive order.
On Air - 90.3 WPLN-FM